This fixture goes beyond the simple challenge for the trophy. Organization, intensity, global exhibition: in Rabat, it is also the image of African football that is played. A message of credibility and maturity, carried by two selections installed at the top.
Senegal, consistency as identity
Third final in four editions. No other figure summarizes the Senegalese trajectory better. For more than a decade, the Lions have been moving forward without interruption, driven by a culture of performance that has become structural. Being in the last four is no longer an achievement, the final almost a standard.
Under the leadership of Pape Thiaw, Senegal has rolled out a solid course. First place in his group, mastery against Sudan and Mali, then elimination of Egypt in the semi-finals on a flash by Sadio Mané. Twelve goals scored, two conceded.
On the eve of the final, the speech remains measured.
“Playing against the host country is never easy, because there is the audience. But on the ground, it’s 11 against 11",
recalls Pape Thiaw, before broadening the issue:
"Today, it is also the image of Africa that is at stake. We must not spoil that. Even deprived of its captain Kalidou Koulibaly, suspended, Senegal advances with the serenity of a group accustomed to summits.
Morocco, ambition under pressure
For Morocco, this finale has a particular flavor. At home, the Atlas Lions return to this meeting 22 years after 2004, with the ambition of erasing nearly half a century without continental titles. Since the historic semi-final of the 2022 World Cup, the Moroccan selection has changed its dimension.
Guided by Walid Regragui, she progressed methodically: gradual increase in power, management success, then qualification snatched against Nigeria in the semi-final, carried by a decisive Yassine Bounou. Aware of the emotional stakes, Regragui does not avoid pressure. "The team that naturally has the pressure is Morocco. It’s normal, we play at home? he declares. His main concern is elsewhere. “My only fear is not to play relaxed. A final, you have to play it, not endure it.
Mutual respect, shared maturity
On the eve of the shock, no verbal fire. Respect dominates. "This sentence hidden in the head, I don’t like it too much," says Moussa Niakhaté. «We have always been respectful, that’s what we were instilled with the values of Senegal.» A tone against the current, but revealing of two mature projects. Morocco knows it: "Senegal will be there, public or not public. Big teams are always there at the end", acknowledges Regragui.
The truth of an evening
On the ground, the opposition appears to be balanced. Senegalese experience and regularity in the face of tactical rigor and Moroccan popular momentum. "A final, it’s 50-50," summarizes Regragui. A detail, an emotion, a sequence can suffice.
Sunday evening, only one team will raise the trophy of the 35th edition of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations. But beyond the winner, this final dedicates two nations of reference and a CAN that fully claims its place among the great stages of world football.
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À propos de l'auteur
Philemon MBALE
Rédacteur sportif
Passionné de sport depuis toujours, partage avec vous les dernières actualités et analyses du monde sportif.