AFCON Finale Chaotic, But African Teams Could Surprise At World Cup

TOPSHOT – Senegal players celebrate with the trophy after winning the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) final football match against Morocco at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat on January 18, 2026. (Photo by FRANCK FIFE / AFP via Getty Images)

AFP via Getty Images

There is a good chance that one of the most intriguing international soccer competitions on the planet might have been missed by many worldwide soccer fans.

The African Cup of Nations concluded its 2025 tournament (yes, it kicked off on Dec. 21, 2025), in dramatic and chaotic fashion and in style in Rabat, Morocco this past weekend.

Senegal outlasted the host side in the controversial final, 1-0 on Sunday, on Pape Gueye’s 94th-minute goal.

It was much more than that.

If you live for controversy and drama, then the championship match was made for you.

A chaotic finish

It might go down in the books that Gueye tallied the game-winner, but another giant hero for Senegal turned out to be veteran winger Sadio Mane. Not only was he named player of the tournament, but he also saved the day for Senegal without kicking the ball by convincing his outraged teammates to complete the final in front of 66,256 spectators at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

This is what transpired:

Three minutes into stoppage time in a 1-1 deadlock, Senegal had a goal from Ismaila Sarr disallowed for a foul by Abdoulaye Seck on Achraf Hakimi. Deep into injury time, Morocco was awarded a penalty kick after the Video Assistant Referee had spotted a minor tug on Brahim Diaz’s shirt by El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Pandemonium then broke out.

Senegal head coach Pape Bouna Thiaw ordered his team off the field in protest of that penalty kick.

Cooler heads prevailed

After a 14-minute delay due to Senegal’s protest, Diaz, who finished with a tournament-best five goals, missed the kick and squandered the Moroccans’ opportunity to win their first AFCON championship in 50 years.

During arguments between the teams after the controversial call, Mane spoke to Claude Le Roy, a former Senegal head coach who is a veteran of a record nine African Cup of Nations. Le Roy was on the pitch, working for French TV.

“Sadio came to ask me what I would do in his place, and I told him quite simply, ‘I would ask your teammates to come back’,” Le Roy told Reuters.

Gaining more respect

As it turns out, Le Roy was spot on as Mane convinced his teammates to play on in what quite possibly be his final AFCON. He has tallied 11 times in 29 matches over the years. Mane, 33, is expected to retire from soccer after the upcoming World Cup.

Who knows what would have happened if Mane hadn’t spoken up?

AFCON, which is held on a biennial basis, might not necessarily be the perfect barometer to predict what will transpire several months from now, but sometimes can give us a peak of what to expect. So many factors are involved, such as in where the competition is held, a team’s form and injuries, which cannot be predicted.

But it is the last big-time international soccer tournament that allows coaches and managers to see what they have before the most important tournament on the planet.

Just because Senegal won in January doesn’t necessarily mean the team will fare well several months from now.

Still, African teams must be respected at the least and sometimes even feared.

African soccer has been on the rise for decades. While Olympic success does not equate into World Cup glory, it can be used as a measuring stick.

A few examples:

The Super Eagles have landed

Nigeria’s Super Eagles captured the Olympic gold medal at the 1996 Atlanta Summer Games.

In 2008, they came close of duplicating the feat, taking home the silver in the Sydney Olympics, losing to Lionel Messi and Javier Mascherano at the 2008 Beijing Games. Still, an impressive feat. Nigeria took home a bronze medal in 2016, and Morocco did the same in Paris in 2024.

While no African team has won a World Cup, Morocco finished an impressive fourth place at the 2022 tourney in Qatar, the best finish ever by a team from the continent. The Atlas Lions eliminated 2010 champion Spain in the Round of 16, and Portugal and Cristiano Ronaldo in the quarterfinals before losing to Croatia in the third-place encounter.

Ghana reached the quarterfinals at South Africa 2010, but was denied a spot in the semifinals, thanks to a controversial handball by Uruguay forward Luis Suarez. Asamoah Gyan sent his ensuing penalty kick over the crossbar. The Ghanaians lost in a shootout. Ghana was a thorn in the U.S. Men’s National Team side for two world championships, defeating Americans in the final group stage match for both in 2006, eliminating its foes. In 2010, Ghana bounced the USA in the Round of 16 in South Africa. It should be noted that the U.S. got a measure of revenge with a group-stage win in Brazil in 2014.

Some World Cup stunners

After stunning reigning world champions France in the 2002 opener, Senegal upset Sweden in the Round of 16 before it was ousted by Turkey in the quarterfinals.

During an absolutely dreadful and low-scoring 1990 World Cup in Italy, Cameroon quickly became the darlings of the tournament. The Africans shocked defending champions Argentina and Diego Maradona, 1-0, in the opening match, before overcoming Colombia in the Round of 16. In one of the greatest World Cup encounters ever, Cameroon pushed England into extra time as Gary Lineker converted the winning penalty kick.

Some of the greats players in the world hail from the continent and made their names in Europe.

George the Great

Former Liberian President George Weah, a two-time African Player of the Year, was a scoring terror with A.C. Milan and Marseille in the 1990s, captured three high honors – Ballon d’Or, FIFA World Player of the Year in 1995, among countless honors in an illustrious career. His son, Tim Weah, is a USMNT regular and is expected to play in the 2026 World Cup.

One-time Cameroon striker Samuel Eto’o plied his trade for Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea, helping his respective teams to La Liga Copa, Coppa Italia, Club World Cup and UEFA Champions League crowns. Eto’o, the president of the Cameroon Football Federation, incidentally, was suspended for four games last week due to misbehavior at AFCON.

Ivory Coast striker Didier Drogba was a key performer for Chelsea, as the Blues capture the Premier League title and FA Cup four times each, League Cup three times and the Champions League.

Roger Milla, then 38, came out of retirement and scored vital goals for Cameroon at the 1990 World Cup, becoming the oldest player to score at that competition. At USA 94, he broke his own record by scoring at the age of 42.

The Egyptian King

Nicknamed the “Egyptian King,” Mohammed Salah plays Liverpool. He has played vital roles for the Red’s Premier League crowns, FA Cup titles, and UCL championships, and a Club World Cup win. And he also was a runner-up twice at the ACN. Salah, who has accrued 67 goals in 115 international appearances, hasn’t been the same force for Liverpool this season (four goals in 14 league matches). Salah, who tied for second with four goals (including a pair in 1-0 group-stage wins), failed to convert his lead-off penalty in a shootout loss to Nigeria in the third-place match. He is expected to play for Egypt in the 2026 World Cup.

And that is just the proverbial short list.

Which brings us to this June and July.

Nine squads from the continent have qualified for the tournament, the most in history, thanks to the expanded tournament.

In alphabetical order, they are Algeria, Cape Verde, Egypt, Ghana, Ivory Coast, Morocco, Senegal, South Africa and Tunisia.

And there is room for one more team if it wins it respective playoffs in March – the Democratic Republic of the Congo. If it can accomplish that, that would make 10 of 49 finalists, more than one fifth (20.8 percent) of the teams.

It would not be surprising if a few of those sides reached the quarterfinals.

What will transpire in the U.S., Canada or Mexico this summer?

Your guess is as good as mine.

Big things from a little team

Cape Verde, with a population of 525,000, is the smallest country ever to qualify for a World Cup. It will be intriguing to see how this World Cup newbie fares in a group that includes Spain, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia. There might be millions of fans around the world rooting for David against teams that will be considered Goliaths of the World Cup, when compared to the African side.

The gut feeling here is that more than one African will grab the spotlight with a heroic performance or an upset or two. And don’t be surprised if a team reaches the semifinals again.

Hopefully, though, there will be less chaos next time in the journey.

Michael Lewis, who has been selected by the United Soccer Coaches as the sixth recipient of the Clay Berling Media Career of Excellence Award, will be honored at the organization’s convention in January. He can be followed on X (formerly Twitter) and Bluesky at @soccerwriter.