AFCON 2025: Ex-Senegal star shocks the world, picks country that did not qualify as tournament favourites

Former Senegal international Ferdinand Coly has made a surprise prediction ahead of AFCON 2025 after naming ten nations he believes can realistically lift the trophy.

His comments were meant to underline just how open and competitive the Morocco-hosted tournament is shaping up to be, but ended up shocking fans. 

Coly believes Morocco enter AFCON 2025 with a slight edge, but insists the tournament remains wide open.

As quoted by Filgoal, he said: “It is very difficult to determine the winner in advance. Morocco has the home advantage and the first African team in the FIFA rankings, so it is the first candidate according to logic, but there are several other nominated teams such as Senegal, Egypt, Algeria and Tunisia.”

He expanded his list of contenders by adding several traditional powerhouses and emerging forces, stating: “These are among the candidates, along with the Democratic Republic of Congo, which qualified for the World Cup, Ivory Coast, the defending champion, Nigeria, and Cameroon.”

According to Coly, the presence of so many experienced sides ensures that no single nation can be considered dominant heading into the tournament.

The biggest shock from Coly’s assessment was his reference to Cape Verde, a team that failed to qualify for AFCON 2025 and will not feature in Morocco.

Despite this, he suggested they could still be considered a surprise force, saying there “may be surprises such as Cape Verde.”

The nod raised eyebrows, particularly given the island nation’s absence from the tournament. 

Despite their absence from the Morocco tournament, Cape Verde, like Ghana, will make their debut on the world stage at the 2026 FIFA World Cup after becoming one of the smallest countries ever to qualify for the tournament. 

Moving on from his gaffe, Coly concluded by underlining just how competitive the tournament is expected to be, explaining: “There are many competitors. This tournament has eight or ten teams capable of winning, which raises the level of competition and the expectations of the fans for this important edition.”

With hosts Morocco opening the tournament against Comoros, AFCON 2025 is shaping up to be a fiercely contested tournament, where reputation alone will not guarantee success.