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 won the last tournament as the host nation, but they actually finished 3rd place in their group during the group stage and were almost eliminated, so there is plenty of value to be had with group betting. With the start of the group stage coming up soon, it is time to see where the value in these groups are.
To Win Group
Group B: Group B consists of Egypt at -163, South Africa at +250, Angola at +500, and Zimbabwe at +2500. Egypt is the favorite to win this group as they are one of the favorites to win the whole tournament as well, but there are certainly some teams in this group that can challenge them. Zimbabwe is not much of a threat here and will likely finish at the bottom of the group, but South Africa is a dangerous team that has been on the rise over the last year while Angola is also a solid team that is good defensively and can hold their weight against some of the heavy hitters in Africa. Egypt did not perform well in the last tournament either, finishing in 2nd place in their group with 3 draws and finishing behind Cabo Verde. On the other hand, both Angola and South Africa performed well in the last tournament. Angola won their group over Burkina Faso and Algeria in the last installment of this competition, and South Africa was able to finish in 2nd place of their group, finishing ahead of Namibia and Tunisia. Egypt struggled to score goals in the last tournament and both Angola and South Africa have good defenses that could cause trouble. Considering how Egypt did not win their group in the last tournament and how Angola did, there is certainly the possibility for chaos in this group, but South Africa could be the team that benefits with the way they have been improving over the last 2 years. South Africa at +250 to win Group B.
Group C: Group C consists of Nigeria at -120, Tunisia at +162, Tanzania at +900, and Uganda at +1000. Nigeria is the favorite to win this group and for good reason. They did not win their group in the last tournament, but they did finish in 2nd place of their group and made a deep run all the way to the Final which they lost to the host nation Cote D’Ivoire. They are one of the more talented teams in all of Africa though and they are certainly the best team in this group. This is not a strong group for them either as Uganda and Tanzania really show no threat to them. Their biggest competition in this group will be Tunisia, but Tunisia has not been in great form over the last year and they also have a very weak attack that struggles to score goals. They tend to lean on their great defense a lot and that will get them far in most matches, but not in a tournament like this where draws can hurt them in the group stage. They struggled to score goals in the last tournament as well and they paid the price as they finished in last place of their group and did not make it out of the group stage. Nigeria is a threat to win this whole tournament this year and they have been getting their act together recently, playing in much better form over the last few months, so this is a group that they should be able to dominate. Nigeria at -120 to win Group C.
Group E: Group E consists of Algeria at -225, Burkina Faso at +275, Equatorial Guinea at +800, and Sudan at +2000. Algeria is the big favorite to win this group due to their quality as they have one of the better teams in all of Africa, but they have struggled to show that on the pitch over the last few years. They have a lot of quality in their attack and on defense as well, but they have struggled in these competitions over the last few years and were awful at the last AFCON as well. They failed to make it out of the group stage at the last tournament, finishing in last place of the group with 2 points, finishing behind teams like Angola, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania. Now they are in a group with Burkina Faso again, who they drew 2-2 in the last tournament, so there is certainly the potential for chaos in this group. Sudan is the weakest team in the group and should not be much of a threat here, but Equatorial Guinea is certainly no pushover. Equatorial Guinea does have a good defense that could make them a difficult team to beat, and they did win their group in the last tournament, finishing ahead of teams like Nigeria, Cote D’Ivoire, and Guinea-Bissau. Equatorial Guinea may be a bit of a stretch to win their group again in this installment of the competition, but there is some great value in Burkina Faso, considering how they did finish higher than Algeria in the same group last tournament. Burkina Faso at +275 to win Group E.
Group F: Group F consists of Cote D’Ivoire at -120, Cameroon at +175, Gabon at +600, and Mozambique at +1600. Cote D’Ivoire is the favorite to win this group as they are the defending champions of the competition, but they won as the host nation last time out and they did not even win their group, finishing in 3rd place and advancing as 1 of the top 4 teams that finished in 3rd place. They are getting a lot of respect here, but they may not even be the best team in this group. Cameroon has the potential to be a big threat here as this group is wide open. Mozambique is the weakest team in the group and should not be much trouble as they did finish in last place of their group in the last tournament, but they did cause some trouble in their final match by keeping Ghana out so this is another group where there could be chaos. Gabon is a very interesting team here as they were not in the last tournament at all, but they have been gaining a lot of steam over the last 2 years as a much improved team and playing in this competition is going to be a big deal for them after missing the last one. They also performed well in World Cup qualifiers, finishing just 1 point behind Cote D’Ivoire in their group, so they have shown recently that they can compete with these teams. Cameroon is also a team that has not been dominant recently, but they still have the quality to compete with a team like Cote D’Ivoire, and Cameroon actually finished in 2nd place of their group at the last tournament. Cameroon at +175 to win Group F is the safer option here, but Gabon at +600 does have some value as well.
Group Qualification Yes/No
Comoros Yes +200: Comoros has not been in great form coming into this tournament and they have struggled against some of the top teams in Africa, but they did win their group in the qualification for this tournament, a group which had Tunisia in it, and there is certainly some value in them to advance at this price as a potential 3rd place team in the group. At the last AFCON, all 4 teams that finished in 3rd place with 3 or more points advanced while the 2 3rd place finishers who had 2 points were eliminated. Based on that, 3 points could be enough to advance in 3rd place here so they would just need a win against Zambia since Morocco and Mali will be very tough to beat. This could come down to their match against Zambia and Comoros has actually beaten Zambia twice in the last 2 years. A draw between the two could end up seeing both exit the tournament, but Comoros has shown they can beat this team in recent matches so there is some good value in them to advance as a 3rd place team if they can get 3 points from that match. Comoros at +200 to qualify from the group.
Zambia No +110: Zambia at +110 to not make it out of the group stage certainly has some value here. They are not priced like the worst team in the group, but they very well could be with Comoros playing in better form. It is very unlikely that they are going to get points from their matches against Morocco and Mali so it would have to be their match against Comoros who they have lost to twice in the last 2 years. Even if these two draw and Zambia ruins the chances for Comoros to advance, there is still a very good chance that Zambia would not advance as they would not have enough points in 3rd place. Zambia would likely have to win their match against Comoros to advance and there is a better chance that does not happen. Zambia at +110 to not qualify out of the group.
Uganda Yes +110: Uganda at +110 has some value as a potential team to qualify in 3rd place. Uganda has been in very good form coming into this tournament, beating up on a lot of the weaker teams in Africa. They have not played as well against some of the stronger opponents, but they do have some closer games against top teams in Africa recently. They are in what looks like a tough group on the surface, but the group is not as strong in reality. Nigeria has been playing much better coming into this tournament and it is very unlikely that Uganda picks up points against them, but Nigeria has fumbled some opportunities over the last few years. Tunisia is the next best team in the group, according to the oddsmakers, but they have been underperforming in these competitions. They did not make it out of the group stage in the last tournament and they have a big problem with their attack as they have struggled to score goals so that could be a big factor in this group if they start dropping points due to their lack of a quality attack. Uganda is also priced as the worst team in this group, but they have not been in poor form recently so Tanzania could easily be the worst team in this group. Uganda has the potential to get a point from Tunisia and this group could end up coming down to their match against Tanzania which Uganda can certainly pull 3 points from, actually winning 4 of their last 6 meetings with Tanzania. Uganda at +110 has some value to qualify from the group as a 3rd place team.
Tanzania No -125: Tanzania is currently priced as the 3rd strongest team in this group, but they have been in awful form leading up to this tournament and could very well be the worst team in the group. They have struggled a lot against some of the weaker opponents they have faced over the last year, and they actually finished at the bottom of their group at the last tournament, finishing behind Morocco, DR Congo, and Zambia. They do not have a lot of quality on their team either and it is tough to see them getting points from either match against Nigeria or Tunisia. They would likely have to rely on a win against Uganda to advance and there is a good chance they do not get that win, and even if they find a way to finish in 3rd place of this group, there is a good chance that they will not have enough points to advance. Tanzania at -125 to not qualify from the group.
Benin Yes -163: Benin has been in good form coming into this tournament and they have been improving a lot over the last 2 years. They finished in 2nd place of their qualifying group for this tournament, finishing behind Nigeria, and they just missed out on staying alive in the World Cup Qualifiers. They are going to be a bit of a threat in this group though. Senegal is a clear favorite in this group and they won their group at the last tournament going 3-0-0 so there is not going to be a lot of margin for error at the top of this group. This group does have a clear bottom though with Botswana being the weakest team and performing like it recently. Taking down Senegal is going to be tough for any team in this group, but all of the teams will likely be able to beat up on Botswana. This leaves Benin’s match against DR Congo as very crucial to deciding the fate of this group. DR Congo has a very good defense, but their attack is very inconsistent so it would not be shocking to see Benin win and qualify in 2nd place, but even if the two come away with a draw, wins over Botswana could give both teams enough points to qualify as a 3rd place team. Benin at -163 has some value to qualify from this group.
Equatorial Guinea Yes -150: Equatorial Guinea has not been in great form leading up to this tournament and this is no easy group that they are in either, but they do have some value to advance from the group as this is a competition that they are going to get up for, and they performed very well at the last tournament as well. They actually won their group at the last AFCON, winning a group with Nigeria, host nation Cote D’Ivoire, and Guinea-Bissau. Algeria is the favorite to win this group and they do have a lot of quality in their squad, but Algeria finished at the bottom of their group in the last tournament. This group also has a clear bottom with Sudan so all of the teams will likely beat up on Sudan. This is a group where chaos is a big possibility and that is going to leave the door open for Equatorial Guinea to qualify as a 3rd place team, and maybe even a 2nd place team. Equatorial Guinea at -150 has some value to qualify from the group.
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