The race for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) continues to intensify, with standout players emerging as top scorers and more teams clinching their places in the tournament following Friday’s matches.
Leading Scorers:
Guinea’s Amine Guirassy tops the scoring chart with five goals in the qualifiers, followed closely by Morocco’s Youssef En-Nesyri, who has netted four times.
Several players are tied with three goals, including Algeria’s Amine Gouiri, Ivory Coast’s Sebastien Haller, Senegal’s Sadio Mane, Cape Verde’s Julio Tavares, Zambia’s Patson Daka, and Egypt’s Mahmoud Hassan ‘Trezeguet’.
These prolific scorers have played pivotal roles in their teams’ campaigns, showcasing the attacking quality on display throughout the qualifiers as the continent’s best players battle for a spot in the prestigious tournament.
Qualified Teams
A total of 18 teams have secured their places for the 2025 AFCON, joining Morocco, who are automatic participants as hosts.
The qualified nations are Algeria, Angola, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Comoros, Democratic Republic of Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Gabon, Ivory Coast (the holders), Mali, Nigeria, Senegal, South Africa, Tunisia, Uganda, Zambia, and Zimbabwe.
Remaining Contenders
The final spots for the tournament will be decided in the last round of qualifiers scheduled for November 17-19. Several teams are still in contention for a place:
Group C: Botswana and Mauritania are battling for one spot.
Group D: Benin, Libya, and Rwanda are vying for the remaining place.
Group F: Niger and Sudan compete for a single qualification spot.
Group H: Ethiopia, Guinea, and Tanzania remain in contention.
Group I: Guinea-Bissau and Mozambique are the final contenders.
