AFCON 2025: Who are the real underdogs?
by Devesh Jaganath | by Cydias Aujard
South Africa - 1 AFCON title (1996 Champions)
South Africa will head to Morocco this year, aiming to secure just their second Africa Cup of Nations title, and you can find all of our experts' insights and the latest key news around the team in our AFCON 2025 predictions.
Bafana Bafana’s only triumph on the continental stage came in 1996. They were runners-up in 1998 and finished third in 2000 and 2023. However, they have been one of the most improved nations across all of Africa over the past few years.
Hugo Broos’s side are now ranked 61st in the world according to FIFA’s latest rankings and 11th among CAF representatives. The team held one of the longest unbeaten runs in world football (24 games), but were handed a 3-0 loss to Lesotho for fielding an ineligible player during qualifying for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.
While some may feel that South Africa isn’t really an “underdog,” most of the best online betting sites have them installed at prices of over 40.0 to win the title on pre-tournament markets, well behind the odds seen for front-runners Morocco, Egypt and Algeria.
The 1996 champions have also cracked a somewhat favourable draw for the competition in Group B, alongside Egypt, Angola and Zimbabwe. The popular consensus across Mzansi is that the Pharaohs are Bafana Bafana’s biggest threat in this section.
Mali - 0 AFCON titles (1972 runner-up)
Mali have never won the AFCON title. Their best performance came in their debut year (1972) when they finished in second place, but they failed to qualify for the next 10 editions of the competition before finally returning in 1994 when they came fourth.
However, since 2008, the Eagles have featured in every tournament and secured the bronze medal in 2012 and 2013. They reached the quarter-final in 2023 before bowing out to tournament hosts Ivory Coast, who went on to win the title on home soil.
Tom Sainfiet’s team had an excellent AFCON qualifying campaign, going unbeaten in their six matches and amassing 14 points (four wins and two draws). They finished top of their group ahead of Mozambique, scoring 10 goals and conceding just one.
Drawn in Group A with Morocco, Zambia and the Comoros, the Eagles face a stern test to reach the knockouts this year, but Sainfiet has a history of leading teams to deep runs at the competition, and the Belgian has put together a very impressive young team that features only three players over the age of 30.
Comoros - 0 AFCON titles (second appearance)
Comoros have only ever been to the Africa Cup of Nations once in their history (2021) and are among the teams that are currently showing up in triple digits according to the latest betting odds to claim the title in Morocco this year.
The Coelacanths are the smallest nation competing at AFCON 2025 and are drawn in Group A, which is one of the toughest in the tournament, and their preparation plans were dealt a major blow with FIFA announcing that clubs only need to release players to their national teams on December 15.
However, Stefano Cusin’s charges are quietly building quite a reputation for themselves in recent times and stunned the continent during the AFCON 2025 qualifiers, where they finished ahead of Tunisia in their group and earned praise for their tactical discipline and compact defence.
The underdog tag will not faze the Coelacanths either - in fact, they have shown that they relish being underestimated and play their best football when the pressure is on their opponents to deliver results. Their defence-first approach could prove a fruitful tactic in Group A against attack-minded opposition.
Equatorial Guinea - 0 AFCON titles (fourth in 2015)
Another team currently priced in triple digits is Equatorial Guinea. This is the fourth time that the nation has qualified for the AFCON, but they have developed a reputation for punching above their weight on the continental stage.
Indeed, the National Thunder have got to the knockout stages in each of their four appearances in the competition, and reached the semi-final in 2015 when they hosted the tournament. They reached the Round of 16 in the last edition in 2023.
Juan Micha’s side’s headline result in the Ivory Coast last time out was a 4-0 victory over the host nation, where they showed their ability to not only contain bigger-name teams and perform under pressure, but also find ways to break down the toughest defences.
Micha has put together a team that is tactically disciplined, well-balanced and led by the nation’s all-time top scorer Emilio Nsue, who brings international experience and won the Golden Boot at AFCON 2023, scoring five goals in four matches.
