The Atlas Lions on their way to continental glory
The gates of the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat will open on Sunday at 3:00 p.m. for the final of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) between Morocco and Senegal, according to an announcement by the Organizing Committee. This measure is intended to facilitate public access and avoid crowds, the committee added in a statement published on the official website of the Royal Moroccan Football Federation (FRMF).
The closing ceremony will begin at 6:30 p.m., while the final will kick off at 8:00 p.m., according to the same source.
These organizational measures have been put in place to ensure that this important sporting event runs smoothly and in the best possible conditions, the statement said. On this occasion, the organizing committee “asks all fans attending the match to arrive early, show good sportsmanship, follow the organizers' instructions, and comply with all organizational instructions in force around and inside the stadium.”
After overcoming numerous difficulties and obstacles throughout their journey, which began almost four weeks ago, the Moroccan and Senegalese teams aspire to be crowned kings of African soccer when they face each other tomorrow, Sunday, in the final of the 2025 African Cup of Nations.
Since the start of the tournament on December 21, both teams have been aiming to reach the final, which will be played at the Moulay Abdellah Stadium in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, with the hope of winning their second title, but to do so they have had to play six matches before reaching the seventh, which will be the decisive one.
Both teams, which top the list of African teams in the latest world rankings published by the International Federation of Association Football (FIFA) last month, managed to reach the final on their own merits, thanks to the magnificent level shown by their players throughout the different stages of the competition.
Both teams are aiming to equal the number of titles won by Algeria and the Democratic Republic of Congo in the list of 15 title-winning teams, led by Egypt with seven titles.
The Moroccan team, which played all its matches in the competition at the Moulay Abdallah Stadium, began its journey in the tournament, which it won in 1976 in Ethiopia, with a 2-0 victory over the Comoros Islands in the opening match, before drawing 1-1 with Mali on the second day, returning to winning ways with a 3-0 victory over Zambia on the third (and final) day, and topping Group 1 with 7 points.
Morocco struggled to overcome their Tanzanian counterparts in the round of 16, winning 1-0, and nearly lost their lead in the dying moments after the referee refused to award a penalty requested by the visitors in added time, a decision that sparked controversy among tournament fans.
In the quarterfinals, national team coach Walid Regragui's side beat Cameroon 2-0, in Morocco's first ever victory over the Indomitable Lions in the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Atlas Lions qualified for the Africa Cup of Nations final for the third time, after 1976 and 2004, following a 4-2 victory over Nigeria on penalties, which were required after a goalless draw at the end of regulation time and extra time in the semifinal.
Moroccan fans have high hopes for Brahim Díaz, who has emerged as the star of the competition after scoring five goals, putting him at the top of the scoring charts in this edition, one goal ahead of his closest rivals, Egypt's Mohamed Salah and Nigeria's Victor Osimhen.
Morocco is aiming to become the 13th host country to be crowned African champions on home soil and break the Arab absence from the podium since 2019.
The Spanish Real Madrid star scored in the first five games of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, but failed to find the net in the last game of the competition against Nigeria.
Ayub El Kaabi, striker for Greek club Olympiacos, is another of the Moroccan team's most important assets for tomorrow's match, especially after his good performance in the competition, in which he has scored three goals.
Also standing out in the Moroccan team are Ismail Saibari, star of Dutch side Eindhoven, who has scored one goal in the current edition of the tournament, and Yassine Bono, goalkeeper for Saudi Arabia's Al-Hilal, who shone in the semi-final match after saving two penalties from the Nigerian team, leading his country to the long-awaited final.
The Moroccan national team is playing its seventh match in a single edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, a first in its history of participation in the competition, in which it is participating for the 20th time.
In its run in the current tournament, Morocco has conceded only one goal, while the team has kept a clean sheet in five games so far, its best record in the competition, and Yassine Bounou is the first Moroccan goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in this number of games in the Africa Cup of Nations.
After scoring nine goals in the 2025 edition, the Moroccan team now needs only four more goals to reach 100 in the history of the tournament.
Morocco, ranked 11th in the world and first among African teams in last month's FIFA rankings, has become the 15th host country in history and the second in a row to reach the Africa Cup of Nations final.
The last three host teams to reach the Africa Cup of Nations final went on to win the title: Tunisia (2004), Egypt (2006), and Ivory Coast (2023), reinforcing optimism among Moroccan fans ahead of the eagerly awaited match, considering that the last host to lose the tournament final was Nigeria in 2000, when they lost on penalties to Cameroon.
Overall, the host teams of the Africa Cup of Nations have won the title 12 times, bearing in mind that the 1959 edition did not feature a final, as only three teams participated, and the hosts have won 11 times and lost three times, either in extra time (Tunisia against Ghana in the 1965 edition) or on penalties (Libya against Ghana in 1982 and Nigeria against Cameroon in 2000).
If Morocco wins the championship, it will be the 13th time that an Arab team has won the Africa Cup of Nations and the first since the 2019 edition in Egypt, which was won by Algeria.
Unlike Egypt, which has won seven titles in the tournament, whose first edition was held almost 69 years ago, Algeria has won two titles, compared to just one for Sudan, Tunisia, and Morocco to date.
For its part, Senegal, ranked 19th in the world and second among African teams in the latest FIFA rankings, began its current campaign in the competition, which it won in 2021 in Cameroon, with a 3-0 victory over Botswana and a 1-1 draw on the second day of the group stage against the Democratic Republic of Congo.
The Senegalese team, which played all its matches in the city of Tangier, returned to winning ways in the championship after its impressive 3-0 victory over Benin, despite being a man down after the sending off of veteran defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who will miss the final due to accumulated cards and injury, allowing the team to lead Group 4 with 7 points.
The Senegalese team aims to maintain its unbeaten record for the 18th consecutive time in the Africa Cup of Nations, specifically since the final of the competition in 2019.
Senegal managed to overcome Sudan in the round of 16, coming back from a goal down to earn a deserved 3-1 victory. In the quarterfinals, they faced Mali and won 1-0, taking advantage of their opponents' numerical inferiority, who played with ten men after one of their players was sent off before the end of the first half in a controversial decision.
In the semifinals, national team coach Babi Thiaw's team ended Egypt's hopes with a 1-0 victory, reaching their fourth Africa Cup of Nations final after 2002, 2019, and 2021.
Senegalese fans have high hopes for veteran star Sadio Mané, winger for Saudi Arabia's Al-Nassr, who scored the only goal of the match against Egypt, in addition to his goal against the Democratic Republic of Congo, bringing his total to 11 goals in the Africa Cup of Nations.
Nicolas Jackson, a striker for Chelsea in England on loan this season to Bayern Munich in Germany, will also be one of the assets available to the “Lions of Teranga” team, along with Babi Gaye, a player for Villarreal in Spain, and Edouard Mendy, goalkeeper for Al-Ahli in Jeddah, Saudi Arabia.
During its run in the current edition, the Senegalese team, which is participating in the competition for the 18th time, has kept a clean sheet in four games and hopes to equal its best record of five times in a single edition, considering that it has not conceded more than one goal in a tournament game since the 2017 edition in Gabon.
The Senegalese team, which will be without Habib Diallo and Kalidou Koulibaly in the final due to accumulated cards, has scored 12 goals in the current edition, its best record in a single edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.
The Senegalese team aims to maintain its unbeaten record for the 18th consecutive time in the Africa Cup of Nations,
specifically since the final of the competition in 2019, which they lost 0-1 to Algeria, with 12 wins and 5 draws in their last 17 games in the tournament, which in the last edition saw their elimination on penalties in the round of 16 against Ivory Coast, who went on to be crowned champions of that edition.
This is the first time Senegal has faced the host in the Africa Cup of Nations final, and it is their second final in North Africa after the 2019 edition in Egypt.
Although this match is the 32nd in the history of clashes between the two teams, which began in November 1968, it is the first between them in the Africa Cup of Nations, which is currently celebrating its 35th edition.
In the previous 31 matches, both official and friendly, Morocco has a clear advantage, with 18 wins to Senegal's seven, while six matches ended in a draw.
The two teams have previously met in World Cup qualifying and in the final phase of the African Cup of Nations for local players, with their last meeting taking place on August 26, 2025, when Morocco won on penalties in the semifinal, advancing to the final and being crowned champions of that tournament for the third time.
The Moroccan team also has the advantage in their most recent encounters, having won five of the last six matches between the two teams, while the Senegalese team has only won once in that series, 1-0 in a friendly match on May 25, 2012.
This will be the ninth final between teams from West and North Africa, with each team having beaten the other four times.
Throughout the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, 12 finals have gone to extra time, while nine have been decided on penalties, the last of which was in the 2021 edition, won by Senegal after defeating Egypt in the final.
The final of the first edition, in 1957, saw the biggest win in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations finals, when Egypt beat Ethiopia 4-0, while the biggest win by the tournament host in the final was 3-0 (Ghana over Sudan in 1963 and Nigeria over Algeria in 1980).
