AFCON Final – Preview: Host nation Morocco battle Senegal in a thriller
The bracket has behaved itself, the heavyweights have survived the chaos tax, and now we get the final AFCON promised by the rankings and delivered by the margins: Morocco, hosts and obsessives, against Senegal, champions-in-living-memory and masters of the big-game grind.
It is also a final built on control. Morocco have conceded one goal all tournament, and Senegal have conceded two. Both take a lot of shots, both let you take very few, and both have star power that feels engineered for this exact stage.
Kick-off is Sunday 18 January, 8pm local in Rabat (19:00 GMT) at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
The curtain call to what has been a superb AFCON
Road to the final: how Morocco got here
Morocco’s route has been a steady accumulation of pressure and clean sheets, with one wobble (Mali) and one nerve test (Nigeria).
Group A
- Morocco 2-0 Comoros
- Morocco 1-1 Mali
- Morocco 3-0 Zambia
Round of 16
- Morocco 1-0 Tanzania
Quarter-final
- Morocco 2-0 Cameroon
Semi-final
- Nigeria 0-0 Morocco (Morocco won 4-2 on pens)
That semi-final tells you plenty about this Morocco. They can dominate without scoring, they can survive the moments when the game stops making sense, and they can win a shootout without looking like they are bargaining with the universe. Under Walid Regragui, it has been less about romance and more about repeatable habits.
HISTORY IN THE MAKING! 🌍🏆 The Atlas Lions have done it! After a heart-stopping penalty shootout against a resilient Nigeria side, Morocco has booked their ticket to the AFCON Final. 🇲🇦 pic.twitter.com/TYxS2SoBwP
— 365Scores (@365Scores) January 14, 2026
Road to the final: how Senegal got here
Senegal’s run has felt like a reminder: the best tournament teams do not need to be spectacular every night, they just need to be reliably better than you.
Group D
- Senegal 3-0 Botswana
- Senegal 1-1 DR Congo
- Benin 0-3 Senegal
Round of 16
- Senegal 3-1 Sudan
Quarter-final
- Mali 0-1 Senegal
Semi-final
- Senegal 1-0 Egypt
Two things pop off the page: Senegal have been comfortable scoring in bursts early in the tournament, then increasingly comfortable winning 1-0 when the air gets thinner. And they have done it while looking like a team who know exactly what the final 20 minutes are for.
Team news: absences, returns, and the selection headaches
Senegal arrive with a proper complication: Kalidou Koulibaly is suspended (yellow-card accumulation), and Habib Diarra is also suspended. That is captain, organiser, set-piece presence, and a midfield tool you really miss in a final.
Morocco’s headline issues are injuries rather than bans: Azzedine Ounahi has missed the tournament with a calf injury, and Romain Saïss has been out since picking up a muscle injury in the opener.
As for the stars: Achraf Hakimi is fully back in the mix after his ankle problem early in the tournament, and Morocco look more like themselves when their right side can turn defence into a fast break in two touches.
Predicted Senegal XI
Mendy; Diatta, Sarr, Niakhaté, Diouf; replacement for Diarra, I. Gueye, P. Gueye; Ndiaye, Jackson, Mané
Predicted Morocco XI
Bono; Hakimi, Aguerd, Masina, Mazraoui; El Aynaoui; Díaz, El Khannouss, Saibari, Ezzalzouli; El Kaabi
The numbers that define this final
This is a matchup between the tournament’s most consistent chance generators and its most disciplined defensive structures.
- Senegal have scored in all six matches, with 12 goals overall
- Morocco have conceded one goal in six matches and kept five clean sheets
- Senegal lead the tournament in shots with 94, Morocco are second with 87
- Senegal have attempted over 3,000 passes, Morocco just under that mark
- Achraf Hakimi has created 10 chances, the most for Morocco
Two teams who attack plenty, two teams who defend obsessively, and two teams who rarely lose structural control of a match.
Key Player – Morocco: Brahim Díaz
If Morocco win, the story will not be complicated: Brahim Díaz has been the tournament’s defining attacker. He’s also never lost a match with the national team… ever!
He has five goals, scoring in each of Morocco’s first five matches, and leads the team for shots on target. But the impact goes deeper than finishing. Díaz is Morocco’s hinge in possession. The team circulates, waits, stretches the pitch, then feeds him between midfield and defence where decisions get forced.
Step to him and Morocco slip runners behind. Sit off and he turns and shoots. Leave him drifting and he combines into the box. His goals have also shaped Morocco’s emotional rhythm. When he scores, Morocco suffocate opponents with control. In a final likely to be tight, one Díaz moment could decide everything.
🚨 Brahim Díaz becomes the first player in Morocco’s history to score 5 goals in a single AFCON 🔥
— 365Scores (@365Scores) January 9, 2026
He’s also the only player in the last 57 years to score in each of the first five games of the tournament 🤯 History made. Legacy written 🌟 pic.twitter.com/Tcf6qk8MK9
Key Player – Senegal: Sadio Mané
Senegal’s pulse still runs through Sadio Mané.
He has two goals and three assists in the tournament and leads AFCON for chances created with 18. More importantly, he is the player who turns structure into danger. He stretches defences wide, drifts inside to link play, and produces shots when there should not be any.
He also scored the semi-final winner. Senegal trust him in the quiet spells, the messy minutes, and the moments when finals wobble. He is their accelerator and their safety blanket.
The tactical chessboard: where the match will actually be won
1) Morocco’s right side vs Senegal’s reshuffled defence
Hakimi plus Díaz is Morocco’s most dangerous pattern. Without Koulibaly organising Senegal’s back line, Morocco’s overloads and cutbacks become harder to contain.
2) Midfield second balls
Senegal lose bite and balance without Diarra. Morocco’s midfield plays safe and disciplined, allowing their creators to operate. Winning loose balls after clearances could swing momentum.
3) Crowd pressure
Morocco have lived in this stadium for weeks. If they score first, the atmosphere becomes overwhelming. Senegal striking first flips the emotional weight entirely.
FAQs
What time is the AFCON 2025 final?
Sunday 18 January 2026, 8pm local (19:00 GMT).
Where is it being played?
Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, Rabat.
Who are the AFCON finalists?
Morocco vs Senegal.
Morocco’s path to the AFCON Final?
Group winners → beat Tanzania → beat Cameroon → beat Nigeria on penalties.
Senegal’s path to the AFCON Final?
Group winners → beat Sudan → beat Mali → beat Egypt.
Morocco’s key player at AFCON?
Brahim Díaz, five goals.
Senegal’s key player at AFCON?
Sadio Mané, two goals and three assists.
Major absences in the AFCON Final?
Senegal missing Koulibaly and Diarra (suspension). Morocco without Saïss and Ounahi (injury).
What stands out statistically at AFCON?
Morocco: one goal conceded. Senegal: goals in every match.
By Nicky Helfgott – NickyHelfgott1 on X (Twitter)
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