Africa Cup of Nations Futures 2025/26

The Africa Cup of Nations is set to start on Sunday, December 21, 2025, with the final being played on Sunday, January 18, 2026. Morocco is the host nation for the competition this year and Cote D’Ivoire are the defending champions of the competition from 2023. Cote D’Ivoire was the 1st host nation to win the tournament since Egypt did it in 2006, and Morocco will be looking to do the same. With the group stage set to start soon, it is time to see who has the best chance at taking home the trophy this year. 

Morocco +275: Morocco is coming into this tournament as the team with the best chance at taking home the trophy, according to the oddsmakers. Morocco has a big advantage in this tournament as they are the host nation so they are going to have a lot of fan support throughout the competition no matter what venue they play at, but they are also the highest ranked team in Africa according to FIFA. Morocco has a lot of quality in their squad and they have shown this over the years, not only dominating many of the other teams in Africa, but also dominating on the world stage with some impressive runs in the World Cup recently. They dominated their group in the qualifiers as they went 6-0-0, scoring 26 goals in those 6 matches while only allowing 2 goals. They have a very balanced team as they have a potent attack that can create scoring chances, but they also have a very good defense that has been tough to penetrate. They have also been in great form over the last few months leading up to this tournament, and they are the favorite for good reason as they are clearly the best team in Africa. Morocco was also a big disappointment at the last AFCON, and they have not won this tournament since 1976 so they are going to be focused on winning as the host nation now that they dominate the continent. Considering the quality they have as well as being the host nation here, there is certainly some value in Morocco at +275 to win this tournament. 

Egypt +550: Egypt is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance at taking home the trophy, according to the oddsmakers. Egypt has not won this tournament since 2010 which was the end of a dominant stretch where they won 3 straight AFCON Titles from 2006-2010. They have fallen off as a dominant force in Africa over the years, but recently they have been building a very good team that can compete at a very high level. They dominated their group in the qualifiers, going 4-2-0 and scoring 12 goals in their 6 matches while only allowing 2 goals. Their defense is very good and they have a lot of quality in their attack as well, but scoring has certainly been a problem for them against top level opponents. They underperformed in the last AFCON as well, struggling to score goals. They do not have an easy path in this tournament either as they are in one of the more tough groups. Zimbabwe should not be much of an issue for them as they are still the best team in the group, but both Angola and South Africa are no pushovers. Even if Egypt gets out of the group which is very likely, they will eventually run into better defenses in the knockouts and this will lead to them drawing more matches which will leave their fate up to chance in the hands of penalties. Egypt has been on the rise recently and does have a very good team, but there are better options in this tournament. Egypt at +550 is not the best option to go with here.

Algeria +600: Algeria is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance at taking home the trophy, according to the oddsmakers. Algeria has won this tournament recently as they last won it in 2019 when Egypt was the host nation, but that is their only title in the last 17 tournaments, and they have not even been back to the runners up match since winning in 2019. They dominated their group in the qualifiers, going 5-1-0 and scoring 16 goals in their 6 matches while only allowing 2 goals in those. They have a lot of quality in their defense and in their attack, but they have struggled to create scoring chances against stronger defenses. They had a very weak group in the qualifiers and still managed to pick up a draw against a much weaker nation, and they are going to benefit from a weaker group in this tournament as well. They are the strongest team in their group with teams like Burkina Faso, Equatorial Guinea, and Sudan, but all of those teams are also more defensive in nature which could cause some problems for Algeria. Algeria has a lot of quality, but not like some of the other teams in this competition. They will likely get through their group, but they will eventually run into a much better defensive team in the knockouts which will give them trouble. They have also been underperforming in these big tournaments over the last few years. Algeria is good, but this is not their year to win this tournament so Algeria at +600 is not the best option here. 

Senegal +600: Senegal is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance at taking home the trophy, according to the oddsmakers. Senegal won this tournament recently, back in 2021 when Cameroon was the host nation, and that is their only AFCON Title in their history. They have been a dominant team in Africa in recent years though and are highly ranked on the world stage as well. They were awful in the last tournament as they wildly underperformed for their quality, but they have made the Final of this tournament twice in the last 3 competitions. They have been in great form leading up to the tournament and they were dominant in their group of the qualifiers, going 5-1-0 and scoring 10 goals in their 6 matches while only allowing 1 goal. They have a lot of quality on defense and a very potent attack that can make them a very dangerous team. Scoring has been a bit of a problem for them in these competitions though. Their attack has been on fire recently as they were finishing up the World Cup Qualifiers, but they are going to face much stronger teams as they get deeper into this tournament. They are the strongest team in their group, but they have some tricky matches with DR Congo being no pushover and Benin playing in much better form recently as well. Senegal is certainly one of the more talented teams in all of Africa and they have the potential to be a very dangerous team in this tournament, but they have been underperforming in these tournaments over the last few years and their attack cannot be trusted as they get deeper into their run, playing against better defenses. Senegal at +600 is not the best option here. 

Nigeria +900: Nigeria is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance at taking home the trophy, according to the oddsmakers. Nigeria last won this tournament in 2013 when South Africa was the host nation and that is their only AFCON Title in the last 15 competitions. They did finish as the 2nd place team in the last tournament, losing to host nation Cote D’Ivoire 2-1 in the Final, and they have finished in the top 3 of this tournament twice in the last 3 competitions. They were not great in their group for the qualifiers, still winning the group at 3-2-1, but only scoring 9 goals in their 6 matches while allowing 3 goals. They made a very deep run in the last tournament though and they have been in much better form leading up to this tournament as they needed to get their act together to qualify for the World Cup. They have not been in the best form over the last few years, but they tend to show up in these tournaments and they do have a lot of quality that makes them a very dangerous team. They have a very good defense that can compete with any of the top teams in Africa, and they have a lot of quality in their attack that can make them very potent if things start to click. This is a great opportunity for them to use this tournament as a warm up for the World Cup this summer, and they will be pushing for the title hard after finishing in 2nd place at the last one. They do not have a strong group in this tournament either, Tunisia being the only real threat to them, but they have the potential to make another deep run in this tournament and win it all. There is a lot of value in Nigeria at +900 to win this tournament as they are one of the better teams in all of Africa. 

Cote D’Ivoire +1200: Cote D’Ivoire is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance at taking home the trophy, according to the oddsmakers. They are the defending champions of the tournament and they are the most successful team in recent years, winning twice in the last 5 competitions. They won as the host nation in 2023, but they did not play very well throughout their run despite winning the whole thing. They were very fortunate to even make it out of the group stage in that tournament as they finished in 3rd in their own group and had to advance based on being one of the higher 3rd place teams. They were not dominant throughout the knockouts either as they struggled in every match, going to extra time in a few of those. They do not have an easy group in this tournament with Cameroon in their group as well. Mozambique is the weakest of the bunch, but Gabon has been gaining steam recently and could be a threat to do some damage in this group. Cote D’Ivoire was not very dominant in their group for the qualifiers either, finishing in 2nd place behind Zambia at 4-0-2. They are a very good team defensively, but they lack the quality in their attack needed to make a deep run here. They were very fortunate to win the last AFCON Title and were helped by the home advantage in every match as the host nation, but they will not have that here and this current team does not have a shot at winning the title this time. There is no real value in Cote D’Ivoire at +1200.

Tunisia +1200: Tunisia is coming into this tournament as the team with the next best chance at taking home the trophy, according to the oddsmakers. Tunisia last won this tournament in 2004 as the host nation and that is the only AFCON Title they have in their history. They finished 4th in the tournament after losing the runners up match against Nigeria back in 2019, but that is their only top 4 finish in this tournament since winning it in 2004. They were not very dominant in their group for the qualifiers either, finishing in 2nd place behind Comoros at 3-1-2 and only scoring 7 goals in their 6 matches while allowing 6 goals in those. Their defense is normally better than the way they performed in that group as they have a lot of quality on defense, but they also lack a lot of quality in their attack and have had a big problem with scoring goals. It was a big problem for them at the last AFCOn as well as at the last World Cup. They are not in an easy group either as they are in a group with Nigeria, Tanzania, and Uganda, so they are not even the best team in their own group. They are likely going to lean more on their defense in this tournament like they usually do and that will only get them so far, but eventually they will run into a stronger team and their inability to score goals will be their downfall. Tunisia does not have a good chance at making a deep run in this tournament so there is no real value in Tunisia at +1200.

South Africa +4000: South Africa is not the next team on the list, but they do have some value at this price. South Africa last won this competition back in 1996 as the host nation and that is their only AFCON Title in their history. They did finish in 3rd place at the last AFCON and they have been building a very good team over the last few years as they are on the rise. They do not have an easy group in this competition as they are in a group with Egypt, Angola, and Zimbabwe, but South Africa did just top their group in the World Cup qualifiers which had Nigeria in it, and they were dominant in their group for the qualifiers of this competition as well. South Africa is by no means a dominant team in Africa, but they have been on the rise recently, playing in much better form, and they could make a run as a surprise team in this tournament. There is certainly some value in South Africa at +4000 as a long shot. 

Cote D’Ivoire won the last AFCON as the host nation, but they do not have a strong team coming into this tournament and there will likely be a new champion this year. Morocco at +275 is the best option to go with in this tournament. Morocco is the favorite, but they are also the highest ranked team in Africa and they are the host nation so there is plenty of reason to back them here. Nigeria at +900 is also a good option with some value considering how Nigeria went to the Final at the last AFCON and they have a lot of quality that makes them one of the more dangerous teams in Africa. Finally, South Africa at +4000 certainly has some value as a long shot winner with the way they have been on the rise recently, and they have the potential to make a surprise run here. Morocco at +275, Nigeria at +900, and South Africa at +4000 are the best options for a team to win the 2025/26 AFCON Title.