Saturday Jan 17, 2026. 11:00
The two best defences will come face-to-face in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final when Senegal take on hosts Morocco at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Sunday.
Kick-off is at 9pm CAT (SA, GMT+2)
The Atlas Lions are looking to end a painful 50-year wait for the trophy and this will be their best chance as the host nation with the backing of what should be a partisan crowd in Rabat.
Walid Regragui’s side produced a defensive masterclass against Nigeria in the semi-finals and they emerged 4-2 victors on penalties following a 0-0 draw after extra time, having limited the tournament’s top scorers to just two shots in 120 minutes of football.
The North African giants, who made history in October 2025 by setting a new record for most consecutive wins (16), extended their unbeaten run to an astonishing 26 matches with the shootout triumph over the Super Eagles.
Morocco have conceded just one goal in their opening six matches, while the Lions of Teranga shipped two, and Regragui anticipates a closely-contested AFCON 2025 decider.
“It’s a superb final with the best African teams of the last three years. A fantastic team and a golden people, brothers of Morocco. It’s a superb match-up,” he said.
“It’s a fifth-to-fifth tie. It’s the first time we’ve faced them in a final. The most important thing is that Morocco is in the final. I need to focus on bringing it home together.”
Pape Thiaw’s side had to dig deep to beat Egypt 1-0 in the last four after the Pharaohs adopted a very defensive mindset and managed just three attempts at goal.
The AFCON 2021 champions also eliminated Mali by the same scoreline in the quarter-finals, but they showed their attacking prowess earlier in the tournament after putting three goals past each of Sudan, Benin and Botswana.