AFCON 2025 will be played in Morocco at the near end of 2025, and the excitement is beginning to build. Read on to find out everything you need to know about the AFCON groups picture and who will play who in the opening phase.
AFCON Groups Overview
The draw for the AFCON 2025 groups has already taken place (27 January 2025 in Rabat), which means we now know the full tournament picture. As hosts, Morocco were placed in Group A, where they will begin the competition.
The qualification campaign concluded in November 2024, confirming the 24 nations taking part with a draw for groups held in January 2025. With the groups now set, teams can begin final preparations as they look ahead to the main tournament starting in December 2025.
Here is the state of all the AFCON groups for the tournament.
Group A
Teams: Morocco, Mali, Zambia, Comoros
Hosts Morocco take centre stage and enter as strong AFCON favourites to top this group. Mali and Zambia come off confident qualifying runs and will both believe they can secure a top-two finish. Comoros are the clear outsiders, but they’ve shown before that they can punish any lapses — they won’t be taken lightly.
Group B
Teams: Egypt, South Africa, Angola, Zimbabwe
Egypt, backed by their rich AFCON history, and South Africa are the likely candidates to progress. However, both Angola and Zimbabwe carry good recent form and could easily make life difficult if either of the favourites fail to hit their stride.
Group C
Teams: Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda, Tanzania
Nigeria arrive as one of the top contenders for AFCON 2025, while Tunisia offer tournament know-how and consistency. Uganda and Tanzania may be underdogs, but they have enough quality to cause problems if they can build momentum at the right time.
Group D
Teams: Senegal, DR Congo, Benin, Botswana
Senegal — recent champions — and DR Congo lead the pack here, with enough talent to challenge deep into the tournament. Benin and Botswana will need to punch above their weight, but as we’ve seen many times in AFCON, surprises are always on the table. AFCON fixtures will be revealed at the same time.
Group E
Teams: Algeria, Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, Sudan
Algeria go in as strong favourites, but Burkina Faso and Equatorial Guinea pose serious threats and will expect to compete for qualification. Sudan face a tougher road, though any slip from the others could quickly change the picture. Follow our AFCON betting page for more insights.
Group F
Teams: Côte d’Ivoire, Cameroon, Gabon, Mozambique
Reigning champions Côte d’Ivoire headline this group and look well-placed to advance. Cameroon are seasoned competitors and won’t be easy to push aside. Gabon and Mozambique will need their best football to shake up expectations, but that’s far from impossible in this competition.
Originally, 52 nations set out to qualify for AFCON.
With only 48 slots available, the lowest-ranked eight sides first played a preliminary round, from which four advanced to the main qualifiers.
Across the group stage, half the field was eliminated, leaving 24 teams to reach the final tournament.
These qualified teams were then drawn into six groups of four, based on their seeding from FIFA rankings and their performances during AFCON qualifying.
AFCON Groups FAQs
There will be six groups in the opening phase of AFCON 2025.
Each group will consist of four teams, who will play each other once.
The top two nations in each group will progress, as well as the four third-placed teams with the most points.
If teams are tied on points at the end of the group stage, goal difference will be the tiebreaker. If the teams are still level the deciding factor will be goals scored, then disciplinary points, and finally the drawing of lots.