Pressure on Morocco to deliver as Africa Cup of Nations kicks off

Morocco carry a huge weight of expectation into their opening game at the Africa Cup of Nations on Sunday as the hosts, with star man Achraf Hakimi returning from injury, aim to see off stiff competition to claim continental glory.

Senegal, reigning champions Ivory Coast, Mohamed Salah's Egypt and a Nigeria side led by Victor Osimhen are among the biggest rivals for Morocco at the AFCON, which runs into the New Year with the final on January 18.

Morocco, Africa's best team in the FIFA rankings in 11th place, kick off the tournament on Sunday at 1900 GMT against minnows Comoros at the new 69 000-seat Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

There is huge pressure on the Atlas Lions, semifinalists at the 2022 World Cup who come into the Cup of Nations on a world-record run of 18 consecutive victories.

"I have always said the objective is to win this AFCON at home in front of our fans," coach Walid Regragui insisted on Saturday.

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"The country that will have the most difficulty winning the AFCON is Morocco, because of the expectation on us," he nevertheless warned as they look to claim the title for the first time since 1976.

"The pressure on us is positive, but anything other than victory will be a failure."

Paris Saint-Germain right-back Hakimi, the African player of the year, says he is ready to take part despite not having played since suffering an ankle injury in early November.

"I feel good," said Hakimi, although Regragui admitted that the former Real Madrid man may not play against Comoros with further Group A matches to come against Mali and Zambia.

Quality. Confidence. Impact. 🌟

Brahim Díaz, Lyle Foster & Oumar Diakité are your players to follow at #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 🌍@Football2Gether pic.twitter.com/RwEIIXYYR2
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) December 20, 2025

Hakimi added: "I'm not thinking about me as an individual. If I only play one minute and the team wins, then that's fine."

They have been good at winning of late – Morocco won the recent Under-20 World Cup and the country's triumph in the FIFA Arab Cup final against Jordan in Doha this week brought fans onto the streets in celebration.

CRAMMED INTO CALENDAR

For Morocco, this tournament is also about showcasing some world-class stadiums as it hosts a first AFCON since 1988.

The Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium, which will also stage the final, is one of four being used in Rabat.

A huge 75 000-seat stadium in Tangier will host a semifinal, while games will also be played in Casablanca, Marrakesh, Agadir and Fez as the country builds towards the 2030 World Cup which it will co-host with Spain and Portugal.

The introduction of FIFA's expanded Club World Cup last June and July forced the Confederation of African Football (CAF) to push back its flagship tournament.

They could not wait until next June because of the World Cup, and they can no longer stage the Cup of Nations in January and February because of the new UEFA Champions League format.

SALAH LEADS EGYPT

The only solution was to start in December and continue into the New Year, at a time when many European leagues – where so many African stars play – take a break.

Confederation of African Football president Patrice Motsepe on Saturday acknowledged the need to address the scheduling problem as he announced a decision to play the Cup of Nations every four years following a planned edition in 2028.

"We want to make sure that there is more synchronisation," said Motsepe, and that "the football calendar worldwide is more in harmony".

The CAF president, Dr Patrice Motsepe, made several announcements, including a 𝐧𝐞𝐰 𝐜𝐨𝐦𝐩𝐞𝐭𝐢𝐭𝐢𝐨𝐧 in the CAF Calendar from 2029.#SSFootball | #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 pic.twitter.com/liaXP9ohOL
— SuperSport Football ⚽️ (@SSFootball) December 20, 2025