2025 AFCON Group A: a fiercely contested second place?
by Geoffrey Ejiga | by Cydias Aujard
The Contenders: A Mighty Host and Three Hungry Rivals
Morocco, Mali, Zambia, and Comoros make up Group A of the 2025 AFCON tournament. On paper, the Atlas Lions are the favourites to top the group, and for very good reason. Morocco boasts the best lineup in Group A and one of the best in this edition of AFCON. See the tournament favourite, projected goal scorers, and teams to qualify in our AFCON 2025 predictions and betting tips available now.
Combined with their recent form and H2H against fellow Group A contestants, it's no surprise that Morocco is poised to finish first. The North African team have only tasted defeat once in their last 29 games, and that run saw the Atlas Lions win a staggering 26 games.
Compare that to Comoros, which has lost back-to-back games and five of its last nine. Or Zambia, which has now lost ten of its last 12 games. Mali seem to be the only real threat to the Hosts, considering that they're unbeaten in 14 of their last 17 games while having a better H2H against Morocco than Zambia and Comoros.
Who Wins the Battle for Second Place?
After Morocco, Mali seems to be the second strongest team on paper, and most likely to finish second place according to the AFCON betting odds. Outside of having a much better performance in recent games, Mali have a stronger team, greater H2H records against Zambia and Comoros, and hold a significantly higher FIFA ranking at 54th.
Against the 90th-ranked Zambia, Mali have won one and drawn one of their only two games in the past decade. They won the international friendly by 1-0 in 2022, but drew their Group D AFCON matchup in 2016 (0-0). But it's their recent performances that have been more telling.
Zambia have lost three games in a row, and seven of their last eight. In fact, Chipolopolo has only tasted victory in one of their last 12 games. On the other hand, Les Aigles (The Eagles) recent 0-0 draw with Jordan has now seen them go undefeated in 14 of their last 17 games, including eight victories.
Against Comoros, Mali’s record is even more impressive. They met twice in 2025 for the FIFA World Cup qualification, and Mali beat the 108th-ranked Comoros 3-0 in both games.
Round 1 Battle: Overview Of Upcoming Group A Matches
Morocco vs Comoros
Morocco will officially kick off this edition of the AFCON with their clash with Comoros on the 21st of December. The Atlas Lions already beat The Coelacanths this year in Group B of the Arab Cup, winning 3-1.
Before that, they also met in the last edition of the AFCON, where Morocco beat Comoros 2-0 in their Group C matchup. Their H2H record in the past decades stands at 3-1, with Comoros managing a 2-2 draw against Comoros in the African Cup of Nations qualifiers.
While Comoros have shown their ability to net goals against even the best African nations, the Hosts plan to kick off their campaign with a convincing win.
Mali vs Zambia
The more balanced matchup will be the very next on the calendar, which is the clash between Mali and Zambia. Although Mali are the favourites on paper, you just cannot rule out Zambia when it comes to AFCON football.
While they're winless in their last three African Cup of Nations games, they've walked away with two 1-1 draws against Tanzania and DR Congo, and only lost 1-0 to Morocco in a fiercely contested game.
Mali and Zambia don't have much H2H in recent years, but the two times they clashed in the past decade, there was little to nothing separating them. They drew 0-0 the last time they met in this competition, and Chipolopolo only lost 1-0 in a 2022 friendly game to Les Aigles.
