Junge Welt Analysis: “Smells Like Pushover” – Jan 9, 2026

Football in this country comes to a halt at the turn of the year. But not in Morocco. The men’s Africa Cup of Nations has been played there since mid-December. This Friday the national teams’ continental tournament goes into the quarter-finals, which is officially called the Africa Cup of Nations or Coupe d’Afrique des Nations and, unlike the European Championship, is usually held every two years. Of the 24 teams, favorites such as defending champions Côte d’Ivoire, record champions Egypt and the host country, which has achieved real heights in international football in recent years, remained after the first knockout round. For the North African kingdom, “Afcon 2025” is a prestige undertaking, a test for the 2030 FIFA World Cup, which it is organizing together with Portugal and Spain.

Strong teams like South Africa didn’t make it any further. But Mali. It didn’t initially look like that in the round of 16. It was only shortly before the end of stoppage time that the “Eagles” were able to equalize the 1-1 draw against Tunisia last weekend and slipped into extra time. The North Africans, who were superior in terms of play, finally had to admit defeat on penalties. Because Mali’s goalkeeper Djigui Diarra managed to fend off two shots. Ex-Stuttgart player El Bilal Touré then sank the ball into the net for the winning goal.

The quarter-final round begins with the game Mali against Senegal on Friday. The Senegalese team has shown itself to be fighting strong so far. Only against the Democratic Republic (DR) of Congo in the group stage was it only enough for a 1-1 draw. On Friday evening, Morocco will have to compete with Cameroon, who defeated South Africa 2-1 in the round of 16. The much-praised host with “mercenaries” like Achraf Hakimi from Paris Saint-Germain completed a rather mixed group phase. In the round of 16, it was a clear mistake by Malian referee Boubou Traoré that allowed him to progress when defender Adam Masina brought down the onrushing Tanzanian Iddy Nado in the penalty area. Traoré didn’t even think it was necessary to review the video recording. It smelled like harassment.

On Saturday there will be matches between Algeria and Nigeria, who have won all their games so far, and between Egypt and Côte d’Ivoire. In the round of 16, the Algerian Adil Boulbina, who had just been substituted, scored in the penultimate minute of extra time to make it 1-0 against the equally strong team from the DR Congo. The “Fenneks”’s finishes had previously been significantly lacking in danger. The outstanding Ivorians, on the other hand, have only been unable to prevail in one game so far: in the preliminary round against Cameroon, the game ended 1-1. Most recently, the team defeated Burkina Faso 3-0 in the round of 16. The Eleven from the Nile will probably have a difficult time against the “elephants”.

The match between Côte d’Ivoire and Burkina Faso had an eerie background. There had previously been reports of an attempted coup in Ouagadougou. It was unclear what happened. There has been no official statement yet. Did this have to do with the upcoming game? In fact, as soon as it was over, it was reported that an assassination attempt on Burkinabe President Ibrahim Traoré had been thwarted – and that the coup plotters allegedly had support from Côte d’Ivoire, a close ally of the old colonial power France, whose troops Traoré had thrown out of the country.

In general, politics plays a role in the Africa Cup. Especially this year, when Morocco gives it a particularly elaborate setting. The Grand Stade Hassan II in Casablanca, planned to be the largest stadium in the world, was not completed on time. But other venues were also newly built or renovated. Morocco seeks the spotlight – and receives criticism. Not just from our own population, who revolted in the fall and demanded better health and education instead of wasteful spectacles like the “Afcon” or the World Cup. There was also a boycott call from the “Gen Z 212” movement, which was met with brutal repression.

In fact, stadiums remained empty in the group phase. Unusual for the tournament, which is very popular in Africa. The stands were then allegedly filled with the help of free tickets. Nationalist demonstrations against Algeria attracted unpleasant attention. The Congolese fan base was put in the mood with belly dancers before their team’s game against the “Desert Foxes”, as videos on the Internet document for general amusement. Other things are more acidic. Was the referee bribed when he denied Tanzania a penalty against Morocco in the round of 16? The decision had already been made several times in favor of the “Atlas Lions”: a penalty that wasn’t a penalty against the Comoros, a missed penalty for Mali, an overlooked, serious foul. There are also reports that the draw for the group games was said to have been manipulated in such a way that the home team at least reached the quarter-finals. There is talk online of the biggest “conspiracy story” to date, which revolves around an Africa Cup of Nations. Mockers might object: Welcome to normal FIFA operations.