Round of 16: Favorites & Scrutiny

Favorites under pressure, uninhibited outsiders and sparse stands: the group stage of the 2025 African Cup of Nations (CAN) delivered its verdict on Wednesday December 31. Morocco, host country, and Senegal, cited as the most serious contenders for the final coronation, but also Ivory Coast, title holder, Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria and Algeria will be in the eighth, which will take place from Sunday January 3 to Tuesday January 6.

After a debut deemed not to live up to expectations and under pressure from a demanding public who dream of seeing the Atlas Lions lift the trophy for the first time since 1976, Moroccan footballers temporarily silenced doubts with their victory over Zambia (3-0) on December 29. This accomplished performance, marked by the return from injury of Paris Saint-Germain star Achraf Hakimi, was praised by coach Walid Regragui. “ It’s a benchmark match in terms of unity, on the pitch, with the supporters”welcomed the technician, who until then had crystallized the criticism.

On December 21, in the 68,500-seat Prince Moulay-Abdellah stadium in Rabat, Brahim Diaz’s teammates first won unconvincingly against the Comoros (2-0), returning to the locker room at half-time under the whistles. Then shaken by Mali, they conceded the draw (1-1) and had to wait until the last day to validate first place in group A, which seemed promised to them.

A first for Tanzania

First African nation to reach the semi-finals of a World Cup, in 2022 in Qatar, Morocco, 11^e in the ranking of the international federation (FIFA), faces the challenge of consolidating its status as the best nation on the continent as the 2026 World Cup approaches, organized in the United States, Canada and Mexico from June 11 to July 19.

CAN 2025, on the other hand, is already over for Angola, Botswana, Comoros, Gabon, Equatorial Guinea, Uganda, Zambia and Zimbabwe. Of the 24 selections entered, only 16 remain. In addition to the host country, Senegal, Ivory Coast, Egypt, Cameroon, Nigeria and Algeria, South Africa, Benin, Burkina Faso, Mali, Mozambique, the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC), Sudan, Tanzania and Tunisia are continuing their adventure in the tournament.

Among the different posters offered by the round of 16, we will remember one face-to-face Mali-Tunisia, Saturday January 3 at 8 p.m., an Egypt-Benin duel, Monday January 5 at 5 p.m. or even an Algeria-DRC confrontation, Tuesday January 6 at 5 p.m. For the very first participation in its history in the final stages, Tanzania will meet Morocco on Sunday January 4 at 5 p.m.

Sparse stands

Future host of the 2026 women’s CAN and the 2030 World Cup alongside Spain and Portugal, Morocco is also playing with this 2025 CAN on its credibility for hosting major international sporting competitions. The quality of the facilities, reception, security and logistics is therefore carefully scrutinized.

Several meetings took place in front of sparse stands. It must be said that in anticipation of the deadlines to come in the coming years, Morocco has thought big. The tournament – previous editions of which faced the same problem – takes place in nine different venues – a record –, six of which exceed a capacity of 40,000 seats, approaching the standards of European stadiums. The local police also announced, on December 23, the arrest of eight people suspected of “illegal speculation” on the resale of tickets, as well as the opening of investigations.

As in the past, to increase attendance, the tournament organizing committee, with the agreement of the African Football Confederation, authorized free access to certain matches to supporters approximately twenty minutes after kick-off.

As the round of 16 and its decisive matches loom, the kingdom is pursuing its two objectives: to succeed in its sporting tournament without leaving any doubts about its ability to host major world football events.