Africa Cup of Nations: Strong clashes in the second round

Competition is intensifying in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025, with the start of the second round matches, Friday.

The results of the next 12 matches will determine the path of the 24 teams in the remainder of the journey of the 35th edition of the continental competition.

The cup regulations stipulate that the 12 teams that occupy first and second places in each group will qualify for the quarter-finals, with the four best teams that finished in third place joining them.

Clashes to break the lead partnership

Most of the nominated teams face each other to form strong clashes, most of which aim to break the group’s lead partnership.

The Adrar Stadium in Agadir will host the first strong matches between the Egyptian national team and its South African counterpart, on Friday, at four o’clock.

“Bafana Bafana” won points in their last meeting with Egypt in the African Cup of Nations finals six years ago, despite the advantage of the ground and the audience for the Pharaohs who hosted the competition.

Technical director Hossam Hassan is counting on his professional stars in European leagues, in the form of Liverpool legend Mohamed Salah or Manchester City striker Omar Marmoush. To overthrow his direct competitor in the second group.

Each team won their first match by two goals to one, as Egypt defeated Zimbabwe and South Africa defeated Angola.

The Senegal national team seeks to confirm its strong start in the African Cup of Nations when it meets the Democratic Republic of the Congo, on Saturday, at the Tangier Grand Stadium.

The two teams have three points to their credit, but the Teranga Lions have the advantage on goal difference after they scored three goals against Botswana.

Saidou Mane’s teammates decided in their favor the last match that brought them together with the Congolese on their home soil in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers, winning the qualification visa for the World Cup after topping the second group.

The “Cannes” match will be revenge for coach Sebastien Dusaber’s squad. Coming up to participate in the global playoff qualifying match for the World Cup next March.

Saturday’s matches will also witness an exciting confrontation between the runner-up of the previous tournament, Nigeria, and the Tunisian national team at the Sports Complex Stadium of Fez.

The Carthage Eagles are ahead of the Green Eagles by a goal difference in the third group table.

The national team will meet again with Burkina Faso in the African Cup of Nations for the second edition in a row.

The Greens snatched the equalizer in the previous confrontation in Ivory Coast last year, after they were trailing by two goals to one at the end of normal time.

Baghdad Bounedjah’s brace at the time did not save Djamel Belmadi’s squad from early and second elimination in a row, due to the harsh loss against Mauritania in the third match.

Scored it, shared it. Ibrahim Maza 🤍💚#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/xj3niAw8ac

— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 24, 2025

The last clash between Ivory Coast and Cameroon dates back to the year 2021, when the 2022 World Cup qualifiers draw resulted in them falling into Group Four.

Each team won at that time on its home soil, but the untamed lions took the lead seat, which then continued the journey successfully and passed Algeria in the decisive double confrontation.

Similar to previous occasions, the second round match of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will be no less exciting due to the difficulty of the task in Group F, which also includes the Gabon and Mozambique national teams.

The level between the four teams is close, with a slight advantage for the defending champion, the Ivory Coast team, which was evident in the results of the two matches between Cameroon and Gabon (1-0) and Ivory Coast against Mozambique (1-0).

Patience, precision, perfection. Elite play by the defending champions. 🇨🇮🤩#TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | #WePlayDifferent pic.twitter.com/x6X266FSf9

— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 24, 2025