Teams to Keep an Eye on at the Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers
by Devesh Jaganath | by Devesh Jaganath
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON 2025 or CAN 2025), will be the 35th edition of the biennial tournament and will be held in Morocco, who will have the privilege of hosting the continental premier competition for the second time and the first since 1988.
As it turns out, the hosts are where we start our discussion, as they have been one of the standout performers in qualifying so far. Two rounds in and the Atlas Lions are sitting atop Group B with six points, having romped to a commanding 4-1 win over Gabon before edging Lesotho to a 1-0 victory in early September.
Morocco are ranked 14th in the world and are the highest-ranked team in the CAF region according to FIFA. Thus, they will be determined to excel in this, their home tournament, after an underwhelming performance in the previous edition where they were knocked out by South Africa in the round of 16.
The Atlas Lions are currently the third-favourite at the books, priced at 3.25 to win the AFCON by Bet365.
Can the Super Eagles Wing Their Way Back to the Top?
African powerhouse Nigeria are aiming to win their fourth AFCON title but only their first in over a decade since last lifting the trophy in South Africa back in 2013. Earlier this year, the Super Eagles reached the final of the tournament but fell to eventual winners and tournament hosts Ivory Coast 2-1.
Heading into the third round of qualifying, Nigeria are on four points and are leading Group D but only by the slenderest of margins, with the group still wide open for the taking. Benin are currently in second place with three points, while Rwanda and Libya are also in the running with two and one points respectively.
The Super Eagles' next two matches in October are against the Mediterranean Knights and they are heavily fancied to win both fixtures comfortably. You can check out Nigeria’s latest AFCON betting odds right here on SportyTrader!
Bet on Nigeria to win AFCON 2025
Pharaohs Gunning Record-Extending AFCON Crown
Arguably the pick of the teams over the first two rounds of qualifying was Egypt, who are sitting pretty atop Group C after two very impressive performances. The Pharaohs kicked off their qualifying campaign with a 3-0 win over Cape Verde in Cairo before claiming a convincing 4-0 win over Botswana down in Francistown a few days later.
Like their North African rivals Morocco, Egypt were one of the biggest disappointments in the last AFCON, as they scraped into the last 16 without winning a single game in their group and were sent packing in the first knockout round by DR Congo on penalties after playing out a 1-1 draw during regulation time.
Despite being ranked as the third-highest team in Africa by FIFA, the Pharaohs are not viewed by most bookmakers as major contenders just yet with odds of around 17.0 currently available for them to win the title. Be sure to keep an eye out for our AFCON predictions during the course of next week to see our experts’ thoughts on Egypt’s upcoming matches!
Check Out Egypt's AFCON predictions
Bafana Bafana Eyeing Up Another Big AFCON Run
While South African sports have had a few successful years of late, with the likes of the Springboks winning back-to-back Rugby World Cups and Dricus Du Plessis claiming the UFC Middleweight title in the last year alone, Bafana Bafana have largely underperformed on the international stage, but there are massive positive signs leading up to AFCON 2025.
Hugo Broos’ side have not won Africa’s top football competition since 1996 but defied the odds in the last edition, where they reached the semi-final and were only narrowly beaten by Nigeria in an intense penalty shootout. However, they did go on to claim the bronze medal in the third-place playoff against DR Congo, which was their best finish since their title run.
Bafana Bafana are currently in second place in Group K of qualifying with four points, level with Uganda, who they drew 2-2 against in the opening round before beating South Sudan in a thrilling contest 3-2 in match two. The South Africans dearly missed their captain Ronwen Williams in the first two matches but he is expected to return to the national squad for their double-header with Congo next month having shaken off his injury.
Remember, you can follow all of South Africa’s qualifying matches in real-time via our AFCON Livescores function.
Place a wager on South Africa to win the AFCON
The Elephants To Claim Back-to-Back AFCON Titles?
Of course, we cannot speak of the Africa Cup of Nations without mentioning the reigning champions Ivory Coast, who claimed their third continental title in incredible fashion on home soil this year, beating Nigeria 2-1, with Sebastian Haller scoring the all-important winner at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium on February 11.
What made the Elephants’ triumph all the more memorable was that they decided to sack then-head coach Jean-Louis Gasset midway through the tournament following a humiliating 4-0 defeat to Equatorial Guinea in their final group game. However, results elsewhere allowed the Ivorians through to the knockouts and the rest, as they say, is history.
The reigning AFCON champions are leading Group G and are currently set odds of 3.0 to defend their title, placing them as the current second-favourites behind Nigeria, with home and away matches against Sierra Leone on the horizon.
