Cote dIvoire players warming up during the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations training session for Cote dIvoire at TS Laarbi Ben Mbarek in Marrakech, Morocco on 23 December 2025 ©Ryan Wilkisky/BackpagePix
Wednesday Dec 24, 2025. 12:00
Groups E and F start with some intriguing ties on Wednesday as Cameroon face neighbours Gabon, while Ivory Coast get their Africa Cup of Nations title defence away and another two former champions go head-to-head.
The first match of the day pits Burkina Faso against Equatorial Guinea at the Mohammed V Stadium in Casablanca.
The Stallions qualified for the continental showpiece as runners-up to Senegal in their group and they will be looking to advance to the knockout stages for the third edition in a row after reaching the semi-finals in 2021 and the round of 16 in 2023.
The National Thunder also finished second in their group behind Algeria and almost matched Burkina Faso’s showing at the last two tournaments, bowing out in the quarter-finals four years ago and the round of 16 most recently.
Group E favourites Algeria are next on the menu as they take on Sudan at the Moulay Hassan Stadium in Rabat.
The Fennecs cruised through qualifying with an unbeaten record of five wins and one draw, and they will be determined to progress beyond the group stages for the first time in three attempts since being crowned champions for the second time in 2019.
The Falcons of Jediane pipped Niger to second spot in their qualifying group by just one point and they return to Africa’s biggest stage after a four-year absence, having missed out the 2023 edition and didn’t make it out of the group stages in Cameroon.
The first of two games kicking off in the evening sees defending champions Ivory Coast go up against Mozambique at the Marrakesh Stadium in Marrakesh.
The Elephants lifted the trophy the trophy for the third time in their history on home soil last year, although they had to settle for second place in their qualifying group after Zambia finished one point above them.
The Mambas pushed Mali all the way in qualifying, but ultimately came up three points short to book their ticket to Morocco as runners-up. They have yet to go further than the group stages in five previous attempts, most recently in Ivory Coast last time out.
An all-Central African affair follows later in the night as Cameroon lock horns with Gabon at the Adrar Stadium in Agadir.
The Indomitable Lions made short work of Zimbabwe, Kenya and Namibia in their qualifying group with emerge victorious with an unbeaten record an they will be targeting a much improved tournament in Morocco after being eliminated in the round of 16 at AFCON 2023.
The Panthers had to deal with hosts Morocco during their qualifying campaign and still managed to comfortably finish in second place. They failed to qualify for the previous edition and only made it as far as the round of 16 in 2021.
Wednesday AFCON 2025 fixtures:
Group E
14h30: Burkina Faso v Equatorial Guinea
17h00: Algeria v Sudan
Group F
19h30: Ivory Coast v Mozambique
22h00: Cameroon v Gabon