If there was ever the right time to preach moderation, perhaps the 2025 AFCON final was the best time to do so. The just ended competition had a brilliant mix of everything that makes a football tournament great; exciting games, coaching, brilliant goals and moments, wonderful facilities, top level fandom and controversy. What’s life without a bit of chaos but on January 18, the chaos was way overboard in Rabat as Senegal battled their way past Morocco to win the 2025 AFCON.
Ghana didn’t compete in the tournament after shockingly failing to qualify from a qualification phase that had Angola, Sudan and Niger as the contenders. What’s worse, the Black Stars of Ghana finished bottom of its qualification standings to miss out on the chance to add to its four AFCON title count.
Ghana lost out big by not competing in the tournament but picking out key development in Morocco, the Black Stars’ loss is way bigger than many would comprehend and yes, it has something to do with Otto Addo.
Senegal’s second AFCON title win didn’t come easy at all as the Teranga Lions survived quite a number of scary moments as Ayoub El-Kaabi and company missed chances for the Atlas Lions of Morocco. Senegal equally had a solid number of chances to get on the score sheet and none better than Illiman Ndiaye’s finish that was saved by the ever impressive Yassine Buonou.
From almost boycotting the game to having Brahim Diaz’s penalty saved by Edouard Mendy to chaotic scenes from fans in the stands and players off the pitch, the AFCON final almost marred the spectacle of the culmination of a brilliant competition. Many a football fan wished for a dramatic finish to the competition’s conclusion and it over delivered; too much of everything is indeed bad.
Morocco lost 1-0 thanks to Senegal midfielder Pape Gueye’s brilliant strike in extra minute and using the rudimentary analysis, Morocco lost and Senegal won but there are major deductions from this result beyond just the basics beginning with the losers.
WALID REGRAGUI
It is insane to expect Morocco’s head coach to be listed in the non-glamorous part of this piece but by losing to Senegal in front of a very expectant home crowd, Walid Regragui has lost leverage on the security of his position as the Atlas Lions head coach. After leading Morocco to the 2022 FIFA World Cup to make history as the first African nation to reach that level of the competition and securing qualification to the 2026 with an unbeaten record, you’d think finishing second at the AFCON would mean safety for Regragui.
However, this is far from the case as the loss to Senegal means that Regragui is under tremendous pressure to excel at the 2026 World Cup or seriously risk getting sacked. The uneasiness surrounding Regragui’s position came into sharp focus when he stated that he wasn’t afraid of getting sacked in the lead up to Morocco’s semifinal game against Nigeria.
On the back of making it to the 2022 World Cup semifinals, Morocco went into the 2023 AFCON as odds on favourites to win the competition only to crash out at the group stage meaning a poor performance in this year’s World Cup, would signal to the Moroccan authorities that Regragui isn’t the man to get them over the hump. Looking at the very significant investment Morocco has made in recent years in the sport, nothing but winning the ultimate cuts it.
GHANA BLACK STARS
Ghana’s loss is very much tied to Senegal’s success as the latter’s second AFCON win in five years has made them a very attractive destination for its players in the diaspora and that comes with the opportunity to make its team even better than it is presently constructed. DR Congo, Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, Nigeria, Mali and Cameroon got the chance to market their teams as viable credible potential title winners through the AFCON.
As such, discussions to convince players who are descendants of such countries in the diaspora are likely to be smoother with a higher chance of completing a switch. Paying attention to recent development where Ghana has failed to qualify beyond the group stage in the 2021 and 2023 AFCON and failed to qualify to the 2025 edition altogether, the gap between the Black Stars and its contemporaries is growing.
This situation could easily worsen as the aforementioned countries are still in the hunt to tack on to their rosters with players with a great football education background. DR Congo has a fine backline of Aaron Wan-Bissaka, Axel Tuanzebe, Chancel Mbemba and Arthur Masuaku but have former Man United (now playing for Villarreal) defender Willy Kambwala already greenlight his commitment to DR Congo not France.
Still on Ghana’s loss, the country loses further by hanging on to Otto Addo as head coach of the Black Stars ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup. Many have doubted Ghana would have performed well at this year’s AFCON with serious inclination towards Ghana staring at a third straight exit from the competition at the group stage.
I’m yet to meet any GH football fan who is fully convinced Otto Addo could’ve gone head to head in the AFCON
So how are we all okay he’s leading the team to the World Cup ?
— Jude Duncan (@mensaduncan) January 18, 2026
Seeing the top level of coaching in the 2025 AFCON, it is clear that holding on to Otto Addo is widely regarded as a loss for Ghana even before the 2026 FIFA World Cup commences in June.
Not qualifying for AFCON is a blessing in disguise for Otto Addo….I’m sure he wouldn’t have been the national team coach after the tournament if Ghana had qualified..
— Michael Akomeah (@akomeahmessiah) January 10, 2026
Now to the Winners and it doesn’t get any better than SENEGAL
It was tough and took some serious convincing but Senegal managed to pull it off and got French born Paris Saint-Germain forward Ibrahim Mbaye to play for the country of his father. Mbaye, who turns 18 on January 24, had a great AFCON campaign as he scored twice in the competition and ended up with a gold medal. He was indeed at the heart of the final as his mother is from Morocco.
Having a significant number of Senegal’s triumphant team being members of the West African nation’s diaspora is a giant beacon to draw more of such talent to beef up what already is a deep and quality squad. By winning two AFCON titles in five years and putting in place a great football structure, Senegal is set to win big for a long while.
AFCON TOURNEY WINNING AS A WHOLE
There’s no news like bad news and for better or worse, the controversies of the 2025 AFCON final dominated football conversation all over the world. It was the most discussed subject in the sport and buoyed by the brilliant display from coaches and players in excellent facilities, the AFCON is very marketable competition and a must-watch and that is a win for the tournament and CAF-the governing body that organizes it.
