Nations Qualified for the Round of 16 at the 2025 African Cup of Nations
by Joseph King | by Cydias Aujard
Group stage results: which teams went through?
After a thrilling 10 days of football, the 2025 African Cup of Nations group stage has come to a close. There haven’t been too many surprises, with each of the pre-tournament group favourites taking care of business and managing to secure a top-two finish to advance. Check out the final results below!
Group A:
| Position | Team | Record (W-D-L) | Points | Goal differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Morocco | 2-1-0 | 7 | +5 |
| 2. | Mali | 0-3-0 | 3 | 0 |
| 3. | Comoros | 0-2-1 | 2 | -2 |
| 4. | Zambia | 0-2-1 | 2 | -3 |
Hosts Morocco capped off their group stage in emphatic fashion, beating Zambia 3-0 to finish top of the table with seven points from their three matches. Following them into the knockout rounds is Mali, who drew all three of their games to squeeze into second place.
Group B
| Position | Team | Record (W-D-L) | Points | Goal differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Egypt | 2-1-0 | 7 | +2 |
| 2. | South Africa | 2-0-1 | 6 | +1 |
| 3. | Angola | 0-2-1 | 2 | -1 |
| 4. | Zimbabwe | 0-1-2 | 1 | -2 |
Egypt wrapped up the top spot in Group A following their 1-0 win over South Africa in Matchday 2. This allowed manager Hossam Hassan to completely rotate his squad in the final fixture and the seven-time champions were able to keep their unbeaten streak going with a 0-0 draw against Angola. South Africa did what was expected of them, winning their two other group stage matches for second place.
Group C
| Position | Team | Record (W-D-L) | Points | Goal differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Nigeria | 3-0-0 | 9 | +4 |
| 2. | Tunisia | 1-1-1 | 4 | +1 |
| 3. | Tanzania | 0-2-1 | 2 | -1 |
| 4. | Uganda | 0-1-2 | 1 | -4 |
One of only two teams to come through the group stage with a 100% winning record, Nigeria will be feeling supremely confident heading into the knockout stages. Before the tournament started, the top online betting sites were not rating the Super Eagles amongst the top 2-3 favourites to win AFCON 2025, but they’re starting to sing a different tune now. They will be joined by Tunisia, who made things difficult for themselves after winning the first match, only to lose and draw the next two.
Group D
| Position | Team | Record (W-D-L) | Points | Goal differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Senegal | 2-1-0 | 7 | +6 |
| 2. | DR Congo | 2-1-0 | 7 | +4 |
| 3. | Comoros | 1-0-2 | 3 | -3 |
| 4. | Botswana | 0-0-3 | 0 | -7 |
Cruising through Group D and into the round of 16 are Senegal and DR Congo, who each finished with seven points. Senegal were one of the tournament favourites and have been living up to the billing so far, while DR Congo are looking like a legitimate dark horse contender after an impressive showing.
Group E
| Position | Team | Record (W-D-L) | Points | Goal differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Algeria | 3-0-0 | 9 | +6 |
| 2. | Burkina Faso | 2-0-1 | 6 | +2 |
| 3. | Sudan | 1-0-2 | 3 | -4 |
| 4. | Equatorial Guinea | 0-0-3 | 0 | -4 |
Off the back of two consecutive group stage exits (finishing dead last in the group, no less), Algeria came to Morocco with a point to prove. They’ve certainly looked up to the challenge so far, winning all three of their fixtures, capped off with an emphatic 3-1 victory over Equatorial Guinea to close out the group. They’re joined by Burkina Faso, who beat Sudan 2-0 in Matchday 3 to lock up second place with six points.
Group F
| Position | Team | Record (W-D-L) | Points | Goal differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Ivory Coast | 2-1-0 | 7 | +2 |
| 2. | Cameroon | 2-1-0 | 7 | +2 |
| 3. | Mozambique | 1-0-2 | 3 | -1 |
| 4. | Gabon | 0-0-3 | 0 | -3 |
Ivory Coast and Cameroon successfully navigated the tricky Group of Death. It would come down to the final day with the defending champioins Ivory Coast at one point looking like they were going to finish third. However, the Elephants would pull off a remarkable turnaround to erase a 2-0 deficit and win 3-2 against Gabon.
Group Stage biggest takeaways
1. Soaring Super Eagles:
Nigeria wrapped up a perfect group stage in AFCON 2025 with three wins from three for the third time in their nation's history. They'll be hoping that history doesn't repeat itself as failed to make it to the final in the other two occasions.
2. Algeria's resurgance:
2025 marks the first time that Algeria have won all three group stage fixtures since 2019. They would go on to be crowned champions that year - are the stars aligning for the Fennec Foxes once again?
3. Dark horse Leopards:
We outlined DR Congo’s dark horse potential in previous articles and the Leopards are starting to come good. After a fourth-place finish in the 2023 edition, the question surrounding this DR Congo squad was whether or not they could build on that success and take the next step. They’re definitely ones to watch in the knockout rounds.
4. Champions persevere:
Ivory Coast look to become only the third nation to repeat as champions and the first since Egypt in 2008. They'll be going into their round of 16 matchup with a ton of momentum after their exhilarating comeback victory over Gabon in Matchday 3. Will the pieces all
Best third place teams
Usually, four points almost certainly guarantees you a place in the knockout stages, while three points can also be enough depending on the circumstances. This year, however, there wasn't a single third-place team that finished on four points! Mozambique, Benin and Sudan each got through with just one win and two defeats, allowing Tanzania to make history, advancing to the round of 16 with just two points.
2025 marked the first edition of AFCON in which a third-place team qualified with 2 points.
Not only that, Tanzania made it out of group stage for the first time in their nation's history in their fourth ever appearance. Mozambique will also be competing in the knockout rounds for the first time after topping the best third-place teams table thanks to their -1 goal differential.
| Position | Team | Record (W-D-L) | Points | Goal differential |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Mozambique | 1-0-2 | 3 | -1 |
| 2. | Benin | 1-0-2 | 3 | -3 |
| 3. | Sudan | 1-0-2 | 3 | -4 |
| 4. | Tanzania | 0-2-1 | 2 | -1 |
| 5. | Angola | 0-2-1 | 2 | -1 |
| 6. | Comoros | 0-2-1 | 2 | -2 |
Round of 16 fixtures
A reminder that we’ll be covering all of the below matchups, so if you’re looking for an in-depth look into each, head over to our football predictions.
- Senegal vs Sudan: 03 January - 16:00 GMT (Tanger Stadium)
- Mali vs Tunisia: 03 January - 19:00 GMT (Mohammed V Stadium)
- Morocco vs Tanzania: 04 January - 16:00 GMT (Prince Moulay Abdelleh Stadium)
- South Africa vs TBA: 04 January - 19:00 GMT (Al Medina Stadium)
- Egypt vs Benin: 05 January - 16:00 GMT (Grand Stadium of Agadir)
- Nigeria vs TBA: 05 January - 19:00 GMT (Fez Stadium)
- Algeria vs DR Congo: 06 January - 16:00 GMT (Moulay El Hassan Stadium)
- TBA vs Burkina Faso: 06 January - 19:00 GMT (Marrakech Stadium)
