Senegal and Morocco are set for a high-stake final at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations tournament, with victory crucial to annexing the covetous trophy in the North African country on Sunday, January 18, 2026.
The match, scheduled to take place at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat promises to be an exciting encounter, with both teams seeking for the ultimate title. Morocco are chasing their second AFCON title just as Senegal, who last won the trophy in 2021 in Cameroon.
The Taranga Lions showcased resilience and determination at the beginning of the tournament until now. They made an impressive start to the tournament by defeating Botswana and Benin 3-0 each before playing out a 1-1 draw with DR Congo, earning them the top spot in their group.
In the last 16, Pape Thiaw’s charges cruised to a resounding 4-0 victory over Mozambique, setting up a crush quarterfinal clash against Algeria, where they inflicted a 2-0 win over the North African outfit.
Senegal finally made it to the final of the continental showpiece after narrowly defeating another North African side, Egypt. Sadio Mane’s decisive goal in the 78th minute was enough for the Taranga Lions to secure a place in the final.
This marks their fourth AFCON final appearance, with their previous wins being in 2021 against Côte d’Ivoire and losses to Cameroon in 2002 and Algeria in 2019.
This is the ninth AFCON final between teams from West and North Africa. In the previous eight meetings, West African teams have triumphed four times and North African teams four times.
This is the fifth time a West African team has faced a North African host in the final. On two occasions, the West African team won—Ghana over Tunisia in 1965 and Ghana over Libya in 1982. The other two finals saw the North African hosts triumph: Algeria over Nigeria in 1990 and Egypt over Côte d’Ivoire on penalties in 2006.
Senegal, featuring in their fourth final, will face a North African team in the final for the third time, having played Algeria in 2019 and Egypt in 2021. They lost in 2019 and won in 2021.
Senegal are facing the host nation in an AFCON final for the first time in their history and will be hoping to annex the title.
Meanwhile, victory for Morocco would see host nations win back-to-back AFCON titles for the first time since 2004 and 2006, when Tunisia and Egypt were champions.
Road to the final:
Group Stage: Senegal topped their group with wins against Botswana (3-0) and Benin (3-0), and a draw against Congo DR (1-1).
Round of 16: They beat Mozambique 4-0.
Quarterfinals: Senegal defeated Algeria 2-0.
Semifinals: Senegal defeated Egypt 1-0
