Twenty-four African soccer clubs began their hunt for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations championship in late December. The group stage of the tournament whittled that number down to 16 clubs. With the tournament coming to a close on Sunday, January 18, the final four teams do battle in the semifinal round on Wednesday, January 14, with the winners advancing to the final.
The final four teams remaining in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations are: Senegal, Egypt, Nigeria, and Morocco. When the betting odds for the tournament opened, Morocco and Egypt were the early betting favorites to win the event, while Senegal and Nigeria were ranked fourth and fifth. The No. 3 club, Algeria, was eliminated by Nigeria 2-0 in the quarterfinals on Saturday.
The Africa Cup of Nations tournament began in 1957. Egypt has the most title wins with seven. Nigeria has won the event three times, while Morocco and Senegal each have one victory. The defending champion, the Ivory Coast, was eliminated in the quarterfinals by Egypt, 3-2.
We look at the betting odds, picks, and predictions for the semifinal matchups of Senegal vs. Egypt and Nigeria vs. Morocco.
Senegal has reached the Africa Cup of Nations final three times, most recently in 2021 when the team defeated Egypt for the title on penalty kicks. It was the team’s second straight trip to the final after falling to Algeria 1-0 in 2019. This year, Senegal wrapped up the group stage with a 2-1-0 record with a goal differential of plus-seven. The team advanced to the semis with wins over Sudan (3-1) and Mali (1-0).
Senegal is an offensive-minded club, scoring 11 goals in five matches, but the team is also defensively sound, battling back from a goal down to beat Sudan. The well-balanced club has three players with two goals apiece in Pape Gueye, Nicolas Jackson, and Cherif Ndiaye. Jackson was an unused sub in two of the last three games, but he could be in the mix on Wednesday.
Egypt has not won the Africa Cup of Nations since 2010. The team lost its last two trips to the final in 2017 and 2021. Making things a little more difficult, Senegal has defeated Egypt in three of their past five meetings, including in 2022, when Senegal eliminated Egypt from this tournament.
Egypt finished the group portion of the tournament with a 2-1 mark and a goal differential of plus-two. The club then defeated Benin (3-1) and Ivory Coast (3-2) in the knockout rounds.
Egypt has struggled in this tournament, needing stoppage time and extra time in two wins, while playing Angola to a goalless draw. On the positive side of the equation, the team has Mo Salah on its roster. The star player has four goals in four games for Egypt. The club needs Salah to step up if it hopes to defeat Senegal.
The betting pick is that Senegal will beat Egypt in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations semifinals.
Morocco has not won an Africa Cup of Nations tournament since 1976. The team reached the final in 2004, but lost 2-1 to Tunisia. The club finished the group stage of this year’s tournament with a 1-1-1 mark and a plus-one goal differential.
In the knockout stage, Morocco beat Tanzania (1-0), and is coming off a 2-0 win over Cameroon in the quarterfinals. Morocco has beaten Nigeria in the six most recent meetings between the clubs. Their most recent win was a 4-0 victory at the 2018 edition of this event.
Real Madrid star Brahim Diaz leads the tournament in goals with five. The Moroccan player is the first player in 15 years to score in each of his first five AFCON appearances. The team complements Diaz’s offense with outstanding defensive play.
Nigeria will be without team captain Wilfred Ndidi in this matchup. Ndidi, who has one goal, was suspended for the game.
Nigeria went 3-0 in group play with a goal differential of plus-four. The team then defeated Mozambique (4-0) and Algeria (2-0) in knockout games. No club has scored as many goals as Nigeria has in this event (14). The team is led by Victor Osimhen, who has scored four goals in five games. Offense is the name of the game in Nigeria. Morocco might struggle with the free-flowing play of their opponents this year.
Nigeria last won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2013. They reached the final in 2023 but lost to the Ivory Coast (2-1).
The betting pick for Nigeria to beat Morocco.
We expect Senegal and Nigeria to compete in the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, and the betting pick is that Senegal will win the tournament.
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