Thursday 08 January 2026

Thursday 08 January 2026

CAF Unveils Full Match Schedule for Morocco 2025 Africa Cup of Nations

كأس أمم إفريقيا- المغرب 2025 ... الاتحاد الإفريقي لكرة القدم يكشف عن البرنامج الكامل للمباريات

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Friday released the full match schedule for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (CAN), set to take place in Morocco from December 21, 2025, to January 18, 2026.

   The tournament will kick off with host nation Morocco facing Comoros on December 21 in Rabat, part of Group A, CAF announced on its official website. The match will be played at the newly expanded Prince Moulay Abdellah Sports Complex, a 69,500-seat venue that will also host the tournament’s final on January 18.

  A total of 52 matches will be played over 29 days across six host cities and nine stadiums, showcasing the best of African football.

   The quarter-finals will be staged in Rabat, Tangier, Marrakech, and Agadir, while semi-final matches will take place in Rabat and Tangier. The third-place playoff will be held at Casablanca’s Mohammed V Stadium.

Full Match Schedule:

Group Stage:

December 21

Morocco vs Comoros (Group A)

December 22

Mali vs Zambia (Group A)

Egypt vs Zimbabwe (Group B)

South Africa vs Angola (Group B)

December 23

Nigeria vs Tanzania (Group C)

Tunisia vs Uganda (Group C)

Senegal vs Botswana (Group D)

DR Congo vs Benin (Group D)

December 24

Algeria vs Sudan (Group E)

Burkina Faso vs Equatorial Guinea (Group E)

Côte d’Ivoire vs Mozambique (Group F)

Cameroon vs Gabon (Group F)

December 26

Morocco vs Mali (Group A)

Zambia vs Comoros (Group A)

Egypt vs South Africa (Group B)

Angola vs Zimbabwe (Group B)

December 27

Nigeria vs Tunisia (Group C)

Uganda vs Tanzania (Group C)

DR Congo vs Senegal (Group D)

Benin vs Botswana (Group D)

December 28

Algeria vs Burkina Faso (Group E)

Equatorial Guinea vs Sudan (Group E)

Cameroon vs Côte d’Ivoire (Group F)

Gabon vs Mozambique (Group F)

December 29

Morocco vs Zambia (Group A)

Comoros vs Mali (Group A)

Egypt vs Angola (Group B)

Zimbabwe vs South Africa (Group B)

December 30

Nigeria vs Uganda (Group C)

Tanzania vs Tunisia (Group C)

Botswana vs DR Congo (Group D)

Benin vs Senegal (Group D)

December 31

Equatorial Guinea vs Algeria (Group E)

Burkina Faso vs Sudan (Group E)

Cameroon vs Mozambique (Group F)

Côte d’Ivoire vs Gabon (Group F)

Knockout Stage Schedule

Quarter-finals: January 9-10

Semi-finals: January 14

Third-place playoff: January 17

Final: January 18

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations promises a spectacular month of football, bringing together the continent’s top talent in what CAF describes as “a grand celebration of African football.”

MAP: 31 January 2025

Related news

The Moroccan national football team qualified for the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON Morocco 2025) after defeating Tanzania 1–0 on Sunday at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.
Morocco’s goal was scored by Brahim Diaz in the 64th minute of play.

In the quarter-finals, the Atlas Lions will face the winner of the match scheduled later in the evening (8:00 p.m.) at Al Madina Stadium in Rabat, between South Africa’s Bafana Bafana and Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions.

(MAP:04 January 2026)

 The staging of the first round of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) across six Moroccan cities shows a “clear step up in the event’s standards,” according to the specialist channel RMC Sport.

In its review following the first-round matches, the French media outlet highlights modern stadiums, the quality of the pitches, spectator access, and ticket checkpoint systems as being among the “strengths of the organization.”

“TV production at this AFCON is well established in 2025. With around thirty cameras per stadium, drones, and high-quality directing, the Africa Cup is filmed like a European Championship match,” RMC explains, stressing that the playing surfaces are among the competition’s main assets.

In a report by its correspondents on site, the channel notes that “all the pitches used have been perfect, even though torrential rains have hit Morocco since the start of the tournament. The pitches have been praised by several head coaches.”

It also emphasized the very smooth access to stadiums for spectator flows, while at external security checkpoints, “everything is running properly for an event of this scale.”

In the streets of the host cities, “coexistence among all supporters is perfect,” it continued, noting that “no tension was observed during the opening fixtures of the tournament.”

As for stadium refreshment areas, the offering remains abundant, with very affordable prices for spectators, reporters say, while also describing security across all venues as “perfect.”

In this context, RMC Sport underlines that AFCON 2025 represents a full-scale rehearsal for Morocco ahead of the 2030 World Cup, which the Kingdom will co-host.

 

 Morocco’s national football team will take on Tanzania at the knockout stage of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) 2025, held in Morocco until January 18th.

The fixture is scheduled for Sunday, January 4th at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat

Tanzania qualified as best third-placed team from Group C with two draws and one loss, a total of 2 points.

In turn, Morocco advanced top of Group A with 7 points, following two wins against Comoros (2-0) and Zambia (3-0), and a tie with Mali (1-1).

Morocco’s qualification for the Round of 16 at the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) was widely covered and praised by Belgian media, following the Atlas Lions’ convincing 3-0 victory over Zambia.

The Belgian French-speaking public broadcaster ‘RTBF’ referred to a “landmark victory,” noting that Morocco “crushed Zambia and advanced to the AFCON Round of 16.”

“Despite being under pressure,” the host country “did not falter for a second” on Monday night and managed to win by a large margin to finish at the top of its group and approach the rest of the competition “with much more confidence,” said the public broadcaster.

According to ‘RTBF’, “without exerting themselves, completely suffocating a helpless opponent,” the Atlas Lions have “built up their confidence at the best possible moment,” on the eve of the knockout stage.

For its part, ‘Sporza’, the sports website of the Flemish public broadcaster ‘VRT’, highlighted Morocco’s collective and attacking performance, secured by goals from El Kaabi, who scored twice, and Brahim Díaz. The Dutch-speaking media said that the Moroccans “convinced and impressed” during this final matchday, firmly securing their top spot in Group A.

The daily ‘DH Les Sports’ stressed that Morocco “qualified without trembling against Zambia,” recalling that, under pressure in front of their home crowd, the favorite of AFCON 2025 lived up to expectations by outclassing their opponent to secure their ticket to the Round of 16.

‘Le Soir’ highlighted the expected reaction from the Atlas Lions after the draw against Mali, noting that the match was decided in the first half with two goals scored in less than thirty minutes.

‘Voetbalnieuws’ pointed out that all eyes were on Morocco, the host nation and top favorite of the 35th edition, on Monday night. The Dutch-speaking sports site highlighted the convincing victory over Zambia, notably marked by El Kaabi’s brace, including a “legendary goal” scored with an acrobatic bicycle kick.

Finally, ‘Walfoot’ said that Morocco bounced back well after the draw against Mali, earning seven points out of nine in the group stage to finish first in their group with a clear lead. According to the Belgian site, this performance confirms the Atlas Lions’ status as strong favorites in this AFCON.

 

Morocco retained top spot in Group A of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after drawing 1-1 with Mali in a second-round match played on Friday evening at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

The Atlas Lions’ goal was scored by Brahim Diaz from the penalty spot in stoppage time of the first half (45’ +5). From the same spot, Lassine Sinayoko equalized for Mali in the 64th minute of play.

The draw allows the Atlas Lions to remain top of their group with four points, followed by Zambia and Mali with two points each, while Comoros sit bottom with one point.

In the third and final round, Walid Regragui’s men will face Zambia’s Chipolopolo on Monday (8:00 p.m. local time) at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, with a place in the round of 16 at stake.

The Moroccan national football team qualified for the round of 16 of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations by defeating Zambia (3-0) in a Group A match played on Monday evening at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

Ayoub El Kaabi opened the scoring for the Atlas Lions in the 9th minute of play, before Brahim Diaz doubled the lead (27′). El Kaabi made it three, scoring with another acrobatic overhead kick.

Thanks to this victory, Morocco finishes the group stage at the top of the table with 7 points.

El Kaabi and Diaz join Riyad Mahrez at the lead of the temporary scoring charts with three goals each.

On the first and second matchdays, Walid Regragui’s men beat Comoros 2-0 before drawing 1-1 with Mali.