The TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 reaches its climax on Sunday, January 18, when Senegal face hosts Morocco in the final at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat, with kick-off scheduled for 19:00GMT local time.
The final brings together two sides whose tournament journeys have unfolded in contrasting settings. Senegal have played all their matches in Tangier so far, while Morocco will be contesting their seventh game in Rabat, backed by strong home support.
It will be Senegal’s fourth appearance in an AFCON final and their first since lifting the trophy in 2021, while Morocco return to the final stage for the first time since 2004. Their only continental title came in 1976, when the final stage was decided by a round-robin format rather than a single match.
Despite their long histories on the African stage, this will be the first time Senegal and Morocco meet in an Africa Cup of Nations fixture, although it will be their 32nd encounter overall. Historically, Morocco have dominated the rivalry with 18 wins to Senegal’s six, alongside seven draws.
The two sides have crossed paths in World Cup and AFCON qualifiers over the years, as well as in other competitions, most recently at the 2024 CHAN, where Morocco eliminated Senegal in the semi-finals after a 1-1 draw before winning on penalties.
Recent meetings also favour the Atlas Lions, who have won four of the last six encounters between the teams. Senegal’s only victory in that period was a 1-0 friendly win in May 2012, while Morocco claimed a 3-1 friendly success in October 2020. Their competitive history stretches back decades, including World Cup qualification battles in 1970 and 1994 that Morocco won, and Senegal’s breakthrough qualification campaign for the 2002 World Cup, where both teams finished level on points but Senegal advanced on goal difference.
This final also carries significant historical weight for the host nation. Morocco become the 15th host country to reach an AFCON final, and recent history strongly favours teams playing on home soil. The last three hosts to reach the final — Tunisia in 2004, Egypt in 2006 and Ivory Coast in 2023 — all went on to win the tournament. The last host nation to lose an AFCON final was Nigeria in 2000, falling to Cameroon on penalties, while Tunisia’s defeat to Ghana in 1965 remains the only occasion a host lost a final in open play.
Host nations have lifted the AFCON trophy on 12 occasions, with 11 of those triumphs coming in finals. Several of those victories were emphatic, including Ghana’s 3-0 win over Sudan in 1963 and Nigeria’s 3-0 victory against Algeria in 1980, while the highest-scoring final involving a host saw Ethiopia beat Egypt 4-2 after extra time in 1962. Notably, all defeats suffered by host nations in AFCON finals have gone beyond 90 minutes.
Sunday’s match will be the ninth AFCON final contested between West and North African teams, a rivalry that has produced a perfect balance so far with four wins apiece.
Senegal themselves will be facing a North African opponent in an AFCON final for the third time, having lost to Algeria in 2019 before defeating Egypt on penalties in 2021. This will, however, be the first time Senegal face a host nation in an AFCON final.
History also suggests a tight contest. The most common scorelines in AFCON finals are 1-0 and 0-0, and since 2002, the majority of finals have ended with one of those results.
Extra time and penalty shootouts have frequently been required, with nine finals decided on penalties, including Senegal’s triumph over Egypt in 2021. Since the dramatic 2-2 draw between Cameroon and Nigeria in 2000, every AFCON final settled on penalties has finished goalless after 120 minutes.
As the two sides prepare to contest the trophy, the overall head-to-head record underlines Morocco’s historical edge, with 18 wins and 41 goals scored compared to Senegal’s six wins and 18 goals across 31 meetings. Yet finals often defy trends, and with Morocco chasing a first title in nearly five decades and Senegal aiming to reaffirm their status among Africa’s elite, the numbers only heighten the sense of anticipation ahead of a defining night in Rabat.
