Super Eagles miss CAF’s top five favourites to win AFCON

• Cote d’Ivoire, Benin Republic, Angola, Morocco, Tanzania lead contenders
• Lookman among top five stars to watch in Morocco

The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has ruled out the Super Eagles among the top five favourite teams to watch in this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

But the reigning African Player of the Year, Super Eagles and Atalanta of Italy striker, Ademola Lookman, has been listed as one of the top stars to watch at the 2025 AFCON holding in Morocco later in the year. The championship is returning to Morocco 37 years after the 1988 edition won by Cameroon.

The final draw of the 35th edition of the premier African football competition will hold in Rabat on 27 January.

As part of the countdown, CAF has named five teams to watch out for.

While the Super Eagles, who are three-time champions and runners-up at the last edition, are not mentioned, their under-achieving western neighbours, Benin are among the five teams to watch out for as the tournament.

Top on the list of teams to watch the 2025 AFCON is the Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire.
Fresh from their dramatic victory on home soil earlier this year, the Elephants have everything to prove in Morocco.

Under the innovative leadership of Emerse Fae, who was recently crowned CAF Coach of the Year, the team faces the challenge of demonstrating that their triumph was no fluke.

While their AFCON 2025 qualification campaign was far from stellar, finishing second in Group G behind Zambia, the team’s ambition remains undeterred.

Cote d’Ivoire will rely on their young, talented squad and Fae’s strategic brilliance to cement their status as African football heavyweights, despite dropping to 46th in the latest FIFA rankings (sixth in Africa).

The Cheetahs of Benin Republic