Category World News

Who: Senegal vs Morocco
What: Africa Cup of Nations final
Where: Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat, Morocco
When: Sunday, January 18, at 8pm (19:00 GMT)
How to follow: We will have all the build-up on Al Jazeera Sport from 16:00 GMT, in advance of our text commentary stream.

Morocco hosts Senegal in the final of the 2025 CAF Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday, ending a four-week tournament that showcased the continent’s best football.

A win in the men’s showpiece on Sunday would end a 50-year wait for the kingdom’s second Africa Cup title and bring validation of sorts for the huge spending spree. But the pressure is immense.

Senegal, the 2021 winner, is also going for its second title, but the build-up has been overshadowed by complaints about their treatment going into the final.

It’s a duel of lions, between the Atlas Lions of Morocco and Teranga Lions of Senegal.

Al Jazeera Sport takes a closer look at the final of the 35th edition:

What is Senegal’s complaint against Morocco before the AFCON final?

The Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) called on the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and the local organising committee to “immediately take every corrective measure to guarantee respect for the principles of fair play, equal treatment, and security indispensable for the success of this celebration of African football”.

Senegal’s players travelled by train from Tangier to Rabat on Friday, but found what the federation said was a “clear lack of adequate security measures” upon their arrival.

FSF issued a statement in the early hours of Saturday morning in which it criticised an alleged lack of security arrangements for the team’s arrival in Rabat, problems with the team’s accommodation, issues with the training facilities, and difficulties getting a fair ticket allocation for its supporters.

“This deficiency exposed the players and technical staff to overcrowding and risks incompatible with the standards of a competition of this magnitude and the prestige of a continental final,” the federation said.

How do Morocco and Senegal shape up for the AFCON final?

It has been a tournament of few surprises, and no one will be shocked to see the two top-ranked African teams contest the final – world No 11 Morocco vs No 19 Senegal. Both are likely to climb in the FIFA rankings when the next update is issued on Monday.

Both teams have played all their six games so far in the same stadium, with Morocco buoyed by vociferous home support in the 69,500-capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which is also hosting the final.

For Senegal, which played every game in Tangier, it will be its first match of the tournament in another stadium, potentially a further complaint of fairness for the Teranga Lions should the final not go in their favour.

Who have been Senegal’s key players at AFCON 2025?

Senegal’s Sadio Mane has created 18 chances, the most in the tournament. The two-time African Footballer of the Year (2019, 2022) scored against Egypt in the semifinal – his 11th Africa Cup goal.

Mane led Senegal to victory in 2021 and will want to sign off with another win in what is likely his last game in the competition.

Edouard Mendy has been a rock in goal, while midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye brings a wealth of experience to the centre of the park, but the rumour is that this could also be the last AFCON for both of those players.

The pressure on Mane in attack has been eased by Iliman Ndiaye’s growing importance, as well as Paris Saint-Germain teenager Ibrahim Mbaye, who has also been an emerging talent at this tournament.

Who have been Morocco’s key players at AFCON 2025?

Forget Achraf Hakimi, the 2025 African Footballer of the Year – the undisputed star of the tournament so far has been Morocco’s No 10, Brahim Diaz, who scored in each of the team’s first five games.

If Diaz scores again in the final, he would join Ahmed Faras as Morocco’s joint-top scorer at an Africa Cup. Faras, the 1975 African Footballer of the Year, is the country’s top scorer altogether, with 36 goals.

To be fair to Hakimi, he missed the team’s first two games as he recovered from an ankle injury, going on as a substitute in the third. He has since played every game in the knockout stage and created 10 chances, the most for a Moroccan player.

When did Senegal win AFCON?

Senegal’s only AFCON title came in 2022, and Mane was the main man for the Lions of Teranga as they beat Egypt on penalties in the Cup of Nations final in Yaounde.

Having missed a penalty during normal time that night, Mane stepped up to score the decisive kick in the shootout, and Senegal – World Cup quarterfinalists in 2002 – were African champions for the first time.

In that moment, a huge weight was lifted off the shoulders of the boy from a small town on the banks of the Casamance River in southern Senegal.

There have also been plenty of lows for the two-time African footballer of the year, including the defeat in the final against Algeria in Cairo at the 2019 edition and missing the 2022 World Cup with injury.

When did Morocco win AFCON?

Much has been written about Morocco’s wait for their second AFCON crown. This edition marks the 50th anniversary of the Atlas Lions’ solitary continental title.

It is undoubtedly a huge underachievement by the north African nation, but the pressure is now greater than ever.

Morocco became only the fourth African nation to reach a World Cup quarterfinal at Qatar 2022 and went on to become the first nation from the continent to reach the semifinals.

Success did not follow at the 2023 AFCON, so – in front of their own fans – the expectation is that the wait, since that solitary title in 1976 in Ethiopia, must now come to an end.

Stat attack – Senegal

Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has conceded only twice at this edition – against Congo and Sudan – and the Teranga Lions have not let in more than one goal in a game since a 2-2 draw with Algeria in 2017. In its last 22 Africa Cup games, Senegal has kept a clean sheet in 15 of those matches.

Stat attack – Morocco

Morocco has conceded only one goal in the tournament so far – a penalty scored by Mali’s Lassine Sinayoko in the group stage.

They are also unbeaten in two years, since going out of the last AFCON in Ivory Coast in the last 16 to South Africa.

Are Morocco and Senegal going to the FIFA World Cup 2026?

Both teams have qualified for the World Cup this year. However, Senegal supporters are unsure whether they can attend the team’s first two games in the United States because of a travel ban imposed by the Trump administration.

The Teranga Lions play their first match against France in New Jersey on June 16, four days before facing Norway in the same stadium. Senegal will face a playoff winner between Bolivia, Suriname and Iraq in Toronto for its final group game on June 26.

Morocco is in Group C with Brazil, Haiti and Scotland. Moroccan fans will not be affected by the travel ban.

Will Morocco host the 2028 AFCON?

Morocco will hope that it provided the best playing facilities, stadiums and infrastructure in the history of the tournament on the continent as it continues its preparations to be a 2030 World Cup co-host.

It’s likely it will get another dry run before the global showpiece as host of the 2028 Africa Cup of Nations, brought forward a year from 2029 to allow the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to switch the competition to a four-year cycle that brings it in line with FIFA’s calendar.

Few countries in Africa would be able to host the event at such short notice. Morocco, which has invested heavily in football and transport infrastructure, is also hosting three Women’s Africa Cup tournaments in succession, with the third beginning March 17.

The next AFCON is due to take place in 2027 in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.

Head-to-head

The nations have played each other 31 times, with Morocco winning 18 of the encounters and Senegal winning six.

A number of their encounters, including the last, have come at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) – a tournament where only players that play their club football on the continent can compete.

This, incredibly, will be their first meeting at an AFCON.

Senegal team news

Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly is out because of an accumulation of yellow cards. It’s his second suspension of the tournament after a red card in the group stage, and it will be the second final he misses through suspension after the 2019 final, which Senegal lost to Algeria. Koulibaly’s semifinal was cut short by injury, so it’s uncertain if he could have played.

Senegal midfielder Habib Diarra is also suspended because of yellow cards. He was booked in the semifinal win over Egypt for arguing.

Senegal predicted starting lineup

Mendy; Diatta, Sarr, Niakhate, Diouf; Diarra, I. Gueye, P. Gueye; Ndiaye, Jackson, Mane

Morocco team news

Azzedine Ounahi has missed the entirety of the competition with a calf injury, and the midfielder is expected to be absent once again for the final.

Romain Saiss picked up a muscle injury in Morocco’s opening match against Comoros and remains absent.

Morocco’s predicted starting lineup

Syria’s army says its forces have taken control of dozens of towns in the east of Aleppo governorate after the Kurdish-led Syrian Democratic Forces (SDF) withdrew from the areas.

After driving out Kurdish forces from Aleppo city last week following deadly clashes, Syria’s army deployed reinforcements near Deir Hafer and other towns, and told the SDF to evacuate the area between the town and the Euphrates river, about 30km (18 miles) further east, amid a power struggle over the disarmament of the Kurdish-led group.

In statements to state television, Syria’s army said it had taken control of “34 villages and towns” east of Aleppo since it started entering the areas on Saturday morning, including the key towns of Deir Hafer and Maskana, as well as a military airport.

However, it accused the SDF of violating the agreement and targeting an army patrol near Maskana, “killing two soldiers”.

It also said it had secured the exit of “more than 200 SDF organisation fighters and their weapons”.

The SDF, meanwhile, accused Damascus of violating the agreement, saying the army entered the towns of Deir Hafer and Maskana “before our fighters had fully withdrawn, creating a highly dangerous situation”, reporting clashes.

Celebrations

Al Jazeera’s Zein Basravi, reporting from Deir Hafer, said civilians are on their way back to the town, trying to enter it.

“We have seen families travelling in the backs of pick-up trucks, braving cold, rainy weather. They are arriving at mud walls set up by the SDF as roadblocks and checkpoints as part of their positions,” he said,

“We are now seeing bulldozers moving in to clear the area, as the Syrian military attempts to establish control and carry out checks on those returning.”

Basravi also said people were elated at the fact that the city was under the control of the Syrian military. “Things here are celebratory,” he said.

Syria’s government is seeking to extend its authority across the country following the removal of longtime leader Bashar al-Assad in December 2024.

The SDF controls swaths of Syria’s oil-rich north and northeast, much of which it captured during the country’s civil war and the fight against the ISIL (ISIS) group over the past decade – a war the SDF fought as the main regional ally of the United States.

Progress on implementing a March deal to integrate the political and armed bodies of the Kurdish de facto autonomous administration and forces into the state has stalled amid differences between the two sides, including the Kurds’ demand for decentralised rule.

On Friday evening, the Syrian army struck what it said were Kurdish positions in Deir Hafer. The SDF announced during the attack that the town was “currently under heavy artillery bombardment”.

Kurdish leader Mazloum Abdi, also known as Mazloum Kobani, committed to withdrawing the SDF on Saturday morning “towards redeployment in areas east of the Euphrates”, based on “calls from friendly countries and mediators”.

The Syrian defence ministry welcomed Abdi’s announcement, saying its troops would deploy after the SDF withdrew.

The Syrian army had urged civilians to flee Deir Hafer in recent days, with at least 4,000 people leaving, according to Syrian authorities.

Millions of Kurds live across Syria, Iraq, Iran and Turkiye, with about one to 1.5 million estimated to live in northeastern Syria, controlled by the SDF.

Kurdish rights recognised

The latest advance of the Syrian army came a day after President Ahmed al-Sharaa issued a decree, declaring Kurdish a “national language” and granting the minority official recognition in an apparent goodwill gesture, though the Kurds said it fell short of their aspirations.

Al-Sharaa’s announcement was the first formal recognition of Kurdish rights since Syria’s independence in 1946.

The decree stated that Kurds are “an essential and integral part” of Syria, where they have suffered decades of marginalisation and oppression under former rulers.

It made Kurdish a “national language” that can be taught in public schools in areas where the community is heavily present, and granted nationality to all Kurds, 20 percent of whom had been stripped of it under a controversial 1962 census.

The Kurdish administration in Syria’s north and northeast said the decree was “a first step, however, it does not satisfy the aspirations and hopes of the Syrian people”.