Tag: Africa Cup of Nations

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Brahim Diaz sends Morocco to AFCON quarter-finals

Real Madrid forward Brahim Diaz maintained his goal-a-game record at the Africa Cup of Nations by scoring to take Morocco into the quarter-finals with a 1-0 victory over Tanzania in Rabat on Sunday.

Diaz scored once in each of three group matches and his 64th-minute strike against the Tanzanians created history as he became the first Moroccan to find the net in four consecutive AFCON matches.

The goal came after Morocco squandered numerous scoring chances while stretching an unbeaten run in competitive and friendly matches to 23. Their last loss was to South Africa at the 2024 AFCON.

Morocco will face South Africa or Cameroon, who meet later on Sunday at a different Rabat venue, in the quarter-finals on Friday.

Paris Saint-Germain defender Achraf Hakimi, set up the last-16 winner for Diaz, while making his first start in the tournament after coming off the bench in a victory over Zambia last Monday.

The 2025 African player of the year suffered a serious ankle injury playing for PSG against Bayern Munich in the Champions League two months ago.

But Morocco lacked Azzedine Ounahi, who arrived at the stadium using crutches and wearing a medical boot on his left foot. Bilal El Khannouss took his place in midfield.

Morocco were favourites for several reasons, including home advantage, the backing of close to 70,000 supporters, and lying 101 places above Tanzania in the world rankings.

However, it was Tanzania who had the first chance in the third minute, but Saimon Msuva misconnected with a Selemani Mwalimu cross.

Morocco had the ball in the net after 15 minutes as Ismael Saibari nodded a Abdessamad Ezzalzouli free-kick past goalkeeper Hussein Masaranga.

The assistant referee immediately raised his flag for offside and a VAR review confirmed that the PSV striker had strayed too far forward.

Ayoub El Kaabi was the next Moroccan to come close, heading over before being injured in a collision with Masaranga. Both players resumed after treatment.

A Diaz shot was too high from the edge of the box and El Kaabi headed wide as the host nation continued their pursuit of the opening goal, but the first half ended goalless.

In a lively start to the second period, Ezzalzouli and El Kaabi headed wide then, in a rare Tanzanian raid, Feisal ‘Fei Toto’ Salum fired over with only goalkeeper Yassine Bounou to beat.

As Moroccan pressure mounted, Hakimi rifled a free-kick against the crossbar from just outside the box on the hour mark.

A goal seemed inevitable given the relentless pressure from the host nation, and it came thanks to Hakimi and Diaz.

The full-back passed to the forward, who beat Masaranga at his near post with an angled shot from close range. (Guardian)

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Mozambique beat Gabon 3–2 to end 39-year AFCON win drought

Mozambique ended a 39-year wait for a first Africa Cup of Nations victory by defeating Gabon 3-2 in a Group F thriller in Agadir on Sunday.

The Mambas began the match having drawn four and lost 12 since making their first of six appearances at the tournament in 1986.

Goals from Faisal Bangal, Geny Catamo and Diogo Calila won a seesaw struggle for the Mozambicans, who led 2-1 at halftime in the Moroccan coastal city.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Alex Moussounda netted for Gabon, who twice halved two-goal deficits before suffering a second straight loss after falling to Cameroon.

Defending champions Ivory Coast and Cameroon, who meet later on Sunday in Marrakesh, and Mozambique have three points each.

Catamo had the first clear-cut chance but was let down by poor control, allowing the ball to run too far in front of him and goalkeeper Loyce Mbaba dashed forward to gain possession.

Mozambique — 24 places below Gabon in the world rankings — were more adventurous and deservedly took the lead on 37 minutes through Bangal, a striker with an Italian fourth division club.

Bangal rose unchallenged from a corner, and his header bounced off the ground into the left corner of the net with Mbaba helpless.

Mozambique increased their lead just five minutes later after Bruno Ecuele Manga pulled the shirt of Elias ‘Domingues’ Pelembe in a clash of the rival captains.

Catamo calmly placed the penalty into the left corner as Mbaba dived in the opposite direction.

The Mambas almost scored again soon after, with Witiness ‘Witi’ Quembo bending a shot from outside the box that struck the woodwork.

Gabon pulled one goal back five minutes into the first-half added time through their best-known footballer, 36-year-old Marseille striker Aubameyang.

The 2015 African player of the year was perfectly positioned to tap the ball into the net after Mozambique goalkeeper Ernan Siluane failed to grasp a Didier Ndong shot.

Portugal-based right-back Calila scored the third Mozambique goal on 52 minutes, venturing forward to nod a Witi cross past Mbaba.

Aubameyang had a scoring chance soon after, but headed wide from point-blank range in a let-off for the Mozambicans.

Domingues, a 42-year-old and second-oldest footballer to play at an AFCON, was substituted midway through the second half by a more defensive midfielder, Manuel Kambala.

Siluane saved superbly from Aubameyang and Ndong, but a subsequent corner led to a goalmouth melee that ended with Moussounda slamming the ball into the net on 76 minutes to set up a tense finish. (Punch)

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Nigeria reach AFCON knockouts despite late Tunisia scare

Victor Osimhen starred as Nigeria became the second qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations knockout stage after Egypt by surviving a late Tunisia onslaught to win 3-2 in Fes.

The Super Eagles were cruising to victory on Saturday, leading 3-0 through goals from Osimhen, captain Wilfred Ndidi and Ademola Lookman.

But Tunisia refused to surrender in the top-of-the-table Group C clash, and Montassar Talbi and Ali Abdi scored to set up a tense finish.

Tunisia had two chances to level during seven minutes of added time, but a header from captain Ferjani Sassi and a shot by substitute Ismael Gharbi were just off target.

Nigeria have six points, Tunisia three, and Tanzania and Uganda one each, with the final round of group matches set for Tuesday.

The showdown was the seventh time the Super Eagles and the Carthage Eagles had faced each other at an AFCON.

Nigeria won three times, and Tunisia once. Another two meetings went to penalty shootouts, with each nation winning one.

After performing well below par when edging Tanzania in the opening round, Nigeria were a transformed team against Tunisia, dominating the first 30 minutes in the northern city.

Osimhen was outstanding, particularly in aerial duels, while Tunisia were forced to constantly defend against the three-time champions.

The Galatasaray striker, wearing his trademark mask, headed just over after nine minutes, and came close again soon after as he rose to meet a corner kick.

Osimhen had the ball in the net after 17 minutes, but was rightly ruled offside. Big-screen replays showed the 2023 African player of the year timing his run too early.

Tunisia midfielder Hannibal Mejbri was lucky to escape a yellow card for dissent after reacting angrily when a Nigerian took a foul throw, flinging the ball into the ground.

Osimhen was wide with another headed goal attempt, then left the pitch temporarily so that the medical staff could apply a spray to his leg.

Tunisia finally broke out of a defensive shell on 32 minutes and forced a corner. The set-piece ended with the ball coming back to Abdi, whose shot flew well over.

Several Tunisian raids reaped no reward, and on 44 minutes, the goalless deadlock was broken, with Osimhen, predictably, the scorer.

The goal involved two former African players of the year, with 2024 winner Lookman crossing the ball and Osimhen rising between Abdi and Talbi to head powerfully into the net.

Just five minutes into the second half, Nigeria stretched their lead to two goals, as they once again exposed the aerial weaknesses of the Tunisian defence.

Atalanta striker Lookman was the architect again, floating a corner into the heart of the goalmouth, where Ndidi soared to beat goalkeeper Aymen Dahmen and score his first international goal.

After creating the first two goals, Lookman scored the third on 67 minutes, after being set up by Osimhen. He had time to control the ball in the box before slamming it into the net off the post.

Tunisia pulled one goal back with 16 minutes remaining. The North Africans finally got the better of an aerial duel, and Talbi nodded a Mejbri free-kick into the net. (AlJazeera)

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AFCON 2025: Mo Salah fires Egypt past Zimbabwe, South Africa dispatch Angola

Mohamed Salah got Egypt off to a winning start in the Africa Cup of Nations by scoring late for a 2–1 victory against Zimbabwe on Monday.

Salah captained the side in his first start for nearly a month and fired into the bottom corner in stoppage time to spare Egypt embarrassment against a team ranked 129th in the world.

Egypt, the record seven-time champions, were thwarted for long periods in the coastal city of Agadir by Zimbabwe’s stubborn defending and an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Washington Arubi.

Prince Dube stunned the favourites in the 20th minute when he took Emmanuel Jalai’s cross with his first touch, turned and flicked the ball past Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed El-Shenawy with his next.

Salah tried to rally his team-mates, but Egypt suffered another blow shortly afterwards when Emam Ashour went off injured. The midfielder’s tears suggested his tournament could be over just as it had begun.

Arubi tipped over a fierce strike from Omar Marmoush, Trézéguet was booked for diving in an attempt to win a penalty, and Salah, Marmoush and Mohamed all had efforts blocked before the break.

The pattern continued after half-time until Marmoush finally found a way through, scoring from a difficult angle in the 64th minute to level the match.

Salah’s winner earned the Pharaohs three points in Group B. The Liverpool forward has never won Africa’s premier international competition.

In the other Group B match, Lyle Foster earned South Africa a hard-fought 2–1 win over Angola.

Bafana Bafana ended a six-game winless run against Angola, who had won three and drawn three of their previous meetings since a World Cup qualifier in November 2015.

South Africa’s Oswin Appollis opened the scoring in Marrakech with a low strike inside the left post in the 21st minute. Angola equalised minutes later when midfielder Show deflected Fredy’s free kick from the wing inside the near post.

Tempers frayed after a foul by South Africa’s Aubrey Modiba before the break.

Tshepang Moremi thought he had scored a brilliant goal after half-time, but it was ruled out for offside following a VAR review. Mbekezeli Mbokazi then struck the crossbar with a powerful effort as South Africa kept pushing.

Angola coach Patrice Beaumelle refreshed his attack by introducing Mabululu and Milson in the 76th minute, but it was Foster who struck at the other end, curling the ball beyond Hugo Marques’ outstretched arm in the 79th.

Earlier, Patson Daka scored in stoppage time for 2012 champions Zambia to snatch a 1–1 draw against Mali in Casablanca.

Mali dominated for long spells and missed a penalty before the break when Willard Mwanza saved El Bilal Touré’s effort — the second spot-kick to be saved in as many games at the tournament.

Lassine Sinayoko eventually broke the deadlock around the hour mark, but Daka had the final say, heading home to earn Zambia a point in Group A.

Host nation Morocco lead the group with three points after opening with a 2–0 win over Comoros on Sunday.(Francce24)

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AFCON 2025 winner to earn $10m as CAF hikes prize money

The winner of the CAF Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 will receive $10 million in prize money, the Confederation of African Football has announced.

CAF President Patrice Motsepe disclosed this on Saturday after a meeting of the CAF Executive Committee in Rabat, Morocco, a day before the kick-off of the tournament.

The AFCON Morocco 2025 is scheduled to run from Sunday, December 21, 2025, to Sunday, January 18, 2026.

According to a statement posted on CAF’s website, “The prize money for the winner represents a 43% increase from the 2023 edition, when hosts Cote d’Ivoire pocketed USD 7 million.”

The prize money has also doubled over a four-year period.

Winners of the TotalEnergies CAF AFCON Cameroon 2021 earned $5 million, before the figure rose to $7 million at the Côte d’Ivoire 2023 tournament and now to $10 million in 2025, marking a 100 per cent increase.

CAF said the runners-up at the Morocco 2025 tournament will receive $4 million, while the two semi-finalists will each earn $2.5 million.

The continental body described the increment as part of efforts to enhance the value, competitiveness and global appeal of Africa’s flagship football competition. (Punch)

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Egypt beat Nigeria 2-1 in pre-AFCON friendly

Egypt beat Nigeria 2–1 in a pre-Africa Cup of Nations friendly at the Cairo International Stadium on Tuesday as both sides completed their final preparations for the tournament, PUNCH Sports Extra reports.

The hosts took the lead in the 28th minute through Ahmed Saber after neat work down the right by Zizo, whose low cross found the midfielder unmarked for a close-range finish. Nigeria responded with increased urgency and went close before the break, Paul Onuachu forcing a fine save from Mohamed El-Shenawy with a glancing header from Frank Onyeka’s long throw.

The Super Eagles were rewarded in first-half stoppage time when Chidozie Awaziem equalised. Zaidu Sanusi’s delayed free-kick from the right caused confusion between El-Shenawy and his near post, allowing Awaziem to nod into an empty net to draw Nigeria level at the interval.

Egypt restored their advantage eight minutes after the restart as Mostafa Mohamed capitalised on a poorly coordinated Nigerian offside trap, continuing his run before rifling past Amas Obasogie. (Punch)

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Liverpool ‘united as one’ after Salah return – Van Dijk

Captain Virgil van Dijk says Liverpool “are absolutely united and go forward as one” after Mohamed Salah returned to the squad for Saturday’s win over Brighton.

Salah came off the bench for his first Liverpool appearance since claiming after last weekend’s 3-3 draw with Leeds that he had been “thrown under the bus” by the club.

The 33-year-old was left out of the squad for the midweek Champions League win at Inter Milan, but returned for the Brighton game following talks with manager Arne Slot – and claimed an assist in the 2-0 win.

Salah joins up with the Egypt national team for the Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) on Monday and could miss up to eight Liverpool games if his country go all the way to the final on 18 January.

“We showed this week that we are absolutely united. We go forward as one,” said Van Dijk, who made his 250th Premier League appearance for Liverpool on Saturday.

“Mo is going to Afcon and we all hope that he’ll be successful there and he’ll come back and be important for us for the rest of the season.

“The other side of it is that we all know football and we have no idea what is going to happen. I hope that he stays because he is one of my leaders and still very important for the football club. But there’s more parties to this situation.”

Van Dijk also praised Slot for how he handled the events of recent days, with Liverpool now unbeaten in five games since losing to PSV at Anfield in the Champions League.

“I think he has handled the situation very well – calm in his own way and it’s a very tricky situation,” said the Netherlands defender.

“There’s a lot of noise and pressure from the outside world and rightly so because we’ve not been up to the standard we’ve shown in the last few seasons.

“We’ve just got to keep going. He’s at a club which is very together and that’s how it has been before our time at the club, and that’s something we have to keep going.

“We go through the good times together, as a team, as a club and as a fanbase, but sometimes when the difficult moments arise we also have to stick together. This moment of time is a very good moment to see how everyone responds.” (BBC)

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Salah scores twice as Egypt qualify for 2026 World Cup

Liverpool star Mohamed Salah scored twice to help Egypt beat Djibouti 3-0 in Casablanca on Wednesday and qualify for the 2026 World Cup.

The 33-year-old has now netted nine times in a marathon qualifying campaign that began two years ago, and victory for Egypt gave them an unassailable five-point lead over Burkina Faso in Group A.

Twice African Footballer of the Year, Salah helped Liverpool win the Premier League a record-equalling 20th time last season, and captured the Golden Boot award with 29 goals.

But the Egypt captain has lost his spark with Liverpool this season, scoring just three goals in nine matches in all competitions.

After Ibrahim Adel put Egypt ahead on eight minutes against opponents 158 places lower in the world rankings, Salah netted six minutes later and again on 84 minutes.

While Egypt have won the Africa Cup of Nations a record seven times, they have been less successful in the World Cup, qualifying just four times in 15 attempts — in 1934, 1990, 2018 and now 2026.

Former Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey was among the goals as Ghana trounced the Central African Republic 5-0 in Meknes, and need one point from their final Group I match at home to Comoros to qualify.

Mohammed Salisu, Alexander Djiku, captain Jordan Ayew and Kamaldeen Sulemana were the other scorers for the Black Stars, who led 1-0 at half-time.

Ghana have 22 points and a vastly superior goal difference than Madagascar, who are three points behind. Mali, seeded to win the group, are out of contention with 15 points.

Cape Verde came from two goals behind in Tripoli to draw 3-3 with Libya and edge closer to a first World Cup appearance.

The island nation of about 550,000 inhabitants off the coast of Senegal will clinch first place in Group D if they defeat Eswatini in Praia on Monday.

Known as the Blue Sharks, the Cape Verdeans are two points ahead of Cameroon, who beat Mauritius 2-0 in Saint-Pierre with Manchester United striker Bryan Mbeumo scoring.

Cape Verde have 20 points after nine rounds, two more than Cameroon, the eight World Cup appearances in an African team. (Punch)