AFCON 2025 has reached its defining stage.
The tournament has delivered everything the continent promises at its best: drama, excitement, unforgettable moments, heartbreak, and the reminder that nothing can be taken for granted.
It started with the big teams taking charge. Throughout the group stage, there were no major upsets, no results that shocked anyone. From the very beginning, it was clear that this tournament belonged to the heavyweights.
When the knockout rounds began, the opportunity was there for the underdogs to pull off surprises, but none managed to do so. By the time the quarter-final path was set, it was a stage for the strongest, and nobody had an easy way out.
Whoever wins this 2025 AFCON will be a true champion. They would have beaten top nations, all in the top 10 of the CAF FIFA rankings. That is a massive mountain to climb.
Looking at the quarter-final matchups of Senegal against Mali, Morocco against Cameroon, Nigeria against Algeria, and Egypt against Ivory Coast, it was clear this stage was meant for the big teams.
The quarter-finals gave us a taste of everything AFCON is about: brilliant wins, tough battles, and moments that linger.
Senegal did what they had to against Mali, grinding out a 1–0 win that reflected smart tournament management and the weight of expectations on the Teranga Lions.
Hosts Morocco kept it tight against Cameroon, winning 2–0 with a combination of solid defending and precise set piece finishing, a balance that has carried them this far.
The Super Eagles of Nigeria went past Algeria with purpose. Victor Osimhen led the attack with clinical finishing, and the forward line continued to show it can punish any defense on its day.
Egypt edged out the defending champions Ivory Coast 3–2, a game that reminded the world why Mohamed Salah is still world-class and why Egypt always has pedigree at AFCON.
Now, there are four teams left.
Today is the semi-final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and the final is just around the corner. At this point, errors are not allowed, because they cannot be corrected.
Senegal, Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco will battle for a place in Sunday’s final. Each team has its own story, its own ambition, but they share one reality: two matches on the same night will determine who gets to dream of Sunday’s final.
In this article, Timothy Dehinbo analyses the semi-final matchups.
Senegal v Egypt — Tanger
It was the 6th day of February, 2022, at the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon.
Two teammates then, Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané, who were key to their team, Liverpool, and crucial to whatever the team achieved at the time, faced off in the final of AFCON 2021. It ended in a goalless affair, but Senegal edged it 4–2 on penalties.
There came another huge encounter between both sides just a month later. Two games to decide who progressed to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar.
Egypt won the first leg 1–0 in Cairo on 25 March 2022 through a fourth-minute own goal by Saliou Cissé.
Senegal won the second leg 1–0 in Dakar on 29 March 2022, with Boulaye Dia scoring the only goal in the fourth minute.
Senegal progressed to Qatar after winning the penalty shoot-out 3–1 following a 1–1 aggregate draw.
Now, there is another battle between both teams, and this one is deeply personal for Mohamed Salah. Salah has scored no goals in the five times he has faced Senegal, with one win, one draw and three defeats.
Aside from all of this, the chance to cement his legendary status by finally winning the Africa Cup of Nations is something that would be very much on his mind.
Senegal enter this game carrying both confidence and expectation. Their narrow quarter-final win against Mali demonstrated a team capable of controlling matches and grinding out results when required.
Senegal have also played all their games in Tanger, and that familiarity could serve as an advantage.
The likes of Sadio Mané, Iliman Ndiaye and Pape Gueye will look to carry their strong form into this contest and drive Senegal all the way to the final.
Egypt last won the AFCON in 2010 and for a nation that once dominated the competition, completing a historic treble in 2006, 2008 and 2010, the wait for another title now feels long overdue.
They have grown steadily into this tournament after a not so commanding start, showing increasing belief and cohesion with each passing round.
The likes of Emam Ashour have been contributing in key moments, while Omar Marmoush appears to have found his rhythm at the perfect time.
And then there is the Egyptian King. Mohamed Salah is enjoying a magnificent AFCON 2025, with goals against Zimbabwe, South Africa and Benin Republic, followed by a goal and an assist against Ivory Coast.
It is the first time Salah has been directly involved in five goals at a single AFCON tournament.
This is exactly what Egyptian fans had hoped to see, especially after the drama surrounding his club situation with Liverpool in the weeks leading up to the competition. None of it has affected him. He is in full flow, riding the tournament’s momentum with his eyes firmly fixed on the AFCON crown.
Nigeria v Morocco — Rabat
Morocco will once again count on the 68,000 people inside the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium to carry them through, as they have done all tournament, while Nigeria will firmly rely on their fearsome attack to deliver a final spot.
Moroccan coach Walid Regragui speaking at the pre match press conference on the importance of the fans against Nigeria:
“I hope that tomorrow, the fans will show that it is difficult (for an opponent) to win in Morocco. “
Morocco arrive at this semi-final carrying both momentum and belief. Four wins from five matches have brought them here, but the story of their tournament goes far deeper than the numbers.
Much of their attacking spark has come from Brahim Díaz. The Real Madrid forward has turned consistency into currency, finding the net in five straight games. His five goals make up more than half of Morocco’s total tally at this tournament, and in tight moments, he has been the difference.
Yet it is at the other end of the pitch where this team has truly made its statement. Morocco have built this run on defensive control. One goal conceded in five matches, the best record of any side still standing, speaks to a team that understands how to protect leads.
There is also history riding on this night. It has been 22 years since Morocco last stood at this stage of the competition. Victory here would take them into only their third AFCON final, a list that still includes the high of 1976 and the heartbreak of 2004.
They will attempt to take that step without Azzedine Ounahi. The Girona midfielder has been ruled out with a stubborn calf problem, a blow to their balance in the middle of the pitch.
Brahim Díaz is having one of those tournaments that people still talk about years later. He has scored in each of Morocco’s last five matches, which already puts him level with a record that has stood since 1967, when Ghana’s Osei Kofi did the same.
If he scores again today he goes clear. No one in AFCON history has ever found the net in six straight games. Díaz is now one goal away from standing alone.
Morocco can bank on his brilliance to haunt the Nigerian team, as well as the likes of Abde Ezzaloul, El Kaabi and Achraf Hakimi.
For the Super Eagles of Nigeria, they arrive at this stage of the tournament with an unmistakable presence. Not only because they have won every game they have played so far, but because of the manner of those wins. The Super Eagles have been fearless going forward, composed in possession and increasingly confident in who they are.
They have already scored 14 goals, more than any other team in the competition, and with two matches still to play, a long-standing record is suddenly in view.
The highest number of goals ever scored by one team at a single AFCON is 16, a mark set by Ivory Coast in 2008. Nigeria are now just two goals away from equalling it.
Much of that attacking success has flowed through Ademola Lookman and Victor Osimhen, alongside Akor Adams. The trio have formed a devastating partnership, responsible for the bulk of Nigeria’s goals and repeatedly delivering when the team has needed them most.
All of this places the Super Eagles on the edge of history. Another victory would send them into what would be their ninth AFCON final and only the second time the country has reached consecutive finals.
Still, the task comes with a serious challenge. Wilfred Ndidi will not be part of this one. The captain is suspended after picking up a second yellow card in the quarter-final win over Algeria. He also picked up a knock in that game and trained separately in the latest session, so you could say this was a match he was always likely to miss.
His absence will leave a gap in midfield that Nigeria must find a way to fill on the biggest night of their tournament so far.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, Nigeria coach Eric Chelle admitted Ndidi will be missed but stressed that there are capable options available and said he has full confidence in his players to step up and deliver.
The player most likely to be asked to fill Ndidi’s boots is Club Brugge’s Raphael Onyedika.
Against Uganda in Nigeria’s third group game, he showed glimpses of exactly why he might be the man for the moment. He hinted at it again when he came off the bench against Algeria, a reminder that on nights like this, he could be the one to steady the ship.
By the time the final whistle blows in Tanger and Rabat tonight, AFCON 2025 will have claimed more casualties and left two teams on the doorstep of immortality.
In Tanger, Senegal and Egypt will have battled not just each other but the weight of history, the intensity of expectation, and the pressure that only a semi-final can deliver.
In Rabat, Nigeria and Morocco face a different kind of intensity, the hosts buoyed by a roaring stadium, the Super Eagles carrying the confidence of an unbeaten run.
When all is settled, two teams will have earned their place in the final, two will leave with dreams unfulfilled, and the tournament itself will have reminded everyone why the semi-finals on the night, are, in truth, finals in disguise.
One night, four nations, one way forward, and in this journey, every second will matter.
