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AFCON 2025: The biggest and best stories from Matchday 1
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is officially underway.
Twenty-four of the continent's top teams entered. Just one will be crowned the champion of African soccer.
With one official matchday wrapped and finished, here are the best, the wildest and the downright weirdest stories from Africa's premier soccer tournament.
Senegal, Algeria and Tunisia strut while Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco sweat
AFCON's six favorites all won their opening fixtures, but they did so in wildly different style. Senegal, Algeria and Tunisia scored three goals apiece and cruised to easy wins, with Algeria in particular looking composed, alert and dangerous. Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco, though? They had a little more trouble and found themselves fighting hard to secure their opening day victories.
Morocco had the strangest journey of the six. Facing Comoros — the weakest team in the tournament — on home soil should've set it up for a confidence-building blowout, but the Atlas Lions flubbed most of their chances and settled for a 2-0 scoreline that flattered them greatly. Did the pressure get to the team? Did the crowd's impatience create extra nerves on the day? It's hard to say, but Morocco has a lot of thinking (and target practice) to do before taking on Mali in Matchday 2. If it's going to win its first AFCON trophy since 1976, it's going to have to be a lot more decisive than it was in its opening fixture.
(Shout out to Morocco and Olympiacos forward Ayoub El Kaabi, though. On a day where his teammates couldn't hit the back of the net from point-blank range, El Kaabi managed to do it while upside down and backwards. Goal of the tournament? Probably. Morocco needs more of this energy if it wants to win it all.)
A moment of MLS magic
U.S. Men's National Team stars Cristian Roldan and Tim Ream spoke to the press in October about longevity, focus and MLS rivalries. They had a nice moment reminiscing about when Roldan's Seattle Sounders faced off against Ream's Charlotte FC to kick off the 2025 season.
"It was nice going back there," Ream said of Seattle's Lumen Field. "Wasn’t so nice playing left back. Who was that winger?”
Roldan chuckled. "Georgi Minoungou."
"Oh my gosh," Ream groaned. "Listen, we all know I'm not the quickest. And that boy is lightning."
Indeed he is. Minoungou, the Burkinabe winger who signed for Seattle in 2024, made his AFCON debut for Burkina Faso and used every last ounce of his speed to score a crucial game-leveling goal for his country. Burkina Faso went on to win the match on the back of the high Minoungou gave them. It was a victory made in MLS — and a goal that even Tim Ream couldn't begrudge.
Patson Daka celebrates a little too hard
Look. Sometimes goals are good because they change the complexion of the games they happen in; sometimes they're good because they inspire a devastating aborted cartwheel celebration destined for internet memes. Patson Daka's late equalizer for Zambia was good for both reasons, and for that, we out to salute him.
(He's fine, for the record, despite how sideways that cartwheel went.)
Meet the next Zidane (literally)
Algeria's slick, professional 3-0 demolition of Sudan was notable for many reasons, from Sudanese midfielder Salah Adel's early ejection to Algerian winger Riyad Mahrez's bewitching brace. (If you're wondering what Mahrez has been up to since leaving Manchester City in 2023, there's your answer. He's still got the magic touch.)
The loudest storyline, though, came from the quietest part of the field: Algeria's goal. 27-year-old Granada keeper Luca Zidane made his AFCON debut between the sticks, and if you've been following soccer for any amount of time, that last name should sound awfully familiar. Zidane is the son of French legend Zinedine Zidane, who cheered his boy on from the stands and looked absolutely beside himself with joy.
Matchday Two of AFCON will kick off on Friday, Dec. 26.
More must-reads:
- Late Mo Salah winner lifts Egypt toward AFCON redemption
- Salah speaks in media mix zone after Egypt’s AFCON opener
- The 'Most 3-passing, 1-rushing TD games' quiz
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