With 15 teams already qualified and 24 spots available, the race for the remaining nine places in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is heating up.
The tournament, set to be hosted by Morocco from December 2025 to January 2026, is promising intense competition as the qualifiers draw to a close. According to the CAF website, defending champions Côte d’Ivoire and last edition’s runner-up Nigeria have both secured their spots in the tournament.
As of Thursday, other nations including South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, and Nigeria confirmed their qualification, with some benefiting from the latest round of results. Tunisia secured a dramatic 3-2 victory over Madagascar, with a stoppage-time header from Ali El Abdi ensuring their 18th consecutive AFCON appearance.
In Group B, Gabon qualified without playing a match after their closest rival, the Central African Republic, was defeated 1-0 by Lesotho. South Africa and Uganda also advanced without taking the field, clinching the top two spots in Group K after Congo lost 3-2 to South Sudan.
For Nigeria, a 1-0 victory by Libya over Rwanda earlier in the day secured their place in the top two of Group D. The Super Eagles later played to a 1-1 draw against Benin, with Victor Osimhen scoring a late equalizer to rescue Nigeria from defeat.
In other developments, Ghana’s qualification hopes were revived after Sudan suffered a heavy 4-0 loss to Niger, leaving Group F in a tense state. Ghana now needs to win their remaining two matches and rely on Sudan to slip up in their final game against Angola.
Meanwhile, Algeria, already qualified along with Equatorial Guinea from Group E, dropped their first points of the campaign in a 0-0 draw against Equatorial Guinea in the sweltering heat of Malabo.
So far, the following teams have secured their spots for AFCON 2025:
- Morocco – Host (Automatic)
- Burkina Faso (Group L)
- Cameroon (Group J)
- Algeria (Group E) – Table leader
- DR Congo (Group H)
- Senegal (Group L)
- Egypt (Group C)
- Angola (Group F) – Table leader
- Equatorial Guinea (Group E)
- Côte d’Ivoire (Group G)
- Gabon (Group B)
- Uganda (Group K)
- South Africa (Group K)
- Tunisia (Group A)
- Nigeria (Group D)
With 10 qualifiers scheduled for Friday across the continent, the battle for the remaining spots continues. Teams like Botswana, Zambia, and Zimbabwe are looking to secure their places with home victories, while others will fight to keep their hopes alive.