AFCON 2025: Idriss Diallo backs Cameroon as favourites
Côte d’Ivoire’s national team, reigning champions of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), have learned their group-stage opponents for the 2025 tournament in Morocco.
The draw, held in Rabat on Monday, placed the Elephants in Group F alongside Gabon, Mozambique and long-standing rivals Cameroon.
The clash with the Indomitable Lions promises to be one of the highlights of the opening round.
Ivorian Football Federation (FIF) president Idriss Diallo offered a surprising assessment of who should be considered favourites.
Oh no! The favorite is Cameroon. The Indomitable Lions have already won the AFCON five times, compared to three for Côte d’Ivoire, he remarked with humour, before adding: Let’s say that Côte d’Ivoire and Cameroon are theoretically favorites. But a first round of AFCON is always complicated, we experienced that last year.
Diallo’s comments come as a reminder of the competitive nature of the tournament.
Despite Côte d’Ivoire’s triumph on home soil in 2024, the federation president urged caution, stressing the importance of preparation and focus.
With coach Emerse Faé, we share the same analysis: we will have to be very serious from the first round to hope to go far, he said.
The Elephants will open their campaign on December 24 against Mozambique.
They will then face Cameroon on December 28 in what is expected to be a high-stakes encounter, before closing out their group stage on December 31 against Gabon.
The tournament itself kicks off on December 21 in Rabat, where hosts Morocco will meet the Comoros in the opening fixture.
With a blend of history, rivalries and emerging challengers, AFCON 2025 is set to provide no shortage of drama.
For the Elephants, much will rest on their ability to replicate the discipline and resilience that carried them to the title in 2024.
But as Diallo himself pointed out, the path is fraught with obstacles — and the reigning champions will not be taking anything for granted.
At the same time, his words underline the respect that Cameroon commands on the continental stage.
With five titles to their name, the Indomitable Lions enter the tournament as a constant threat, and their showdown with Côte d’Ivoire could prove decisive in shaping Group F.
As excitement builds ahead of December, fans will be watching closely to see whether the Elephants can defend their crown or if history will again favour their fierce rivals.
