The opening match day of the AFCON 2025 tournament has been quite exciting and beautiful to behold. Right from the opening ceremony to the last game of the round, it was all enjoyed, even in the cold and wet conditions.
The first round of matches had it all – late goals, late drama, individual brilliance, penalty saves, wins for the big boys, but it has not been easy just like that.
Across the 12 matches we observed, 29 goals were scored, with none of the games ending in a goalless draw. Big favourites like Morocco, DR Congo, Senegal, Algeria, Ivory Coast and Cameroon claimed wins without conceding goals, signifying their strong defensive set-ups. Others, like Tunisia and Algeria, also took their opponents to the cleaners.
Our football writer, Samuel Areo, has highlighted three key developments that occurred in the opening week in Morocco.
NOTHING BUT GOALS
As earlier pointed out above, the goals scored across the opening 12 games were 29. The teams made good use of the fantastic pitches by hosts Morocco to great effect. Unlike at the last AFCON, where teams struggled with the playing surface at Ebimpe, teams have enjoyed themselves even in the wet and harsh conditions.
Senegal, champions in 2021 after beating Egypt on penalties, became the first side to score three goals in the tournament, as they thrashed Botswana 3-0 in Tangier. Nicolas Jackson scored twice in that win. North African giants Tunisia also scored three times against Uganda in Rabat, with Elias Achouri also grabbing a double for the Carthage Eagles. In addition, Riyad Mahrez struck a brace to lead 2019 AFCON Champions Algeria to a comfortable 3-0 win over Sudan in Rabat.
COLLECTION OF GOALS
The catalogue of goals in the tournament has been impressive. From Ayoub El Kaabi’s spectacular overhead kick against Comoros in the opening game, to Ademola Lookman’s fabulous strike to secure Nigeria’s win over Tanzania, to Lyle Foster’s match-winner against Angola for South Africa. In all, round one delivered without any doubt, and one can look forward to more in the coming matches.
GOOD START FOR THE FAVOURITES
Most of the big guns delivered, as they won their opening group matches. Morocco beat Comoros in the opener, while Egypt had to come from behind to beat Zimbabwe. Mohamed Salah with the winning goal in stoppage time. As for Nigeria, South Africa, Cameroon and Cote d’Ivoire, it was a bit difficult, but they all scaled through.
In fact, out of the top ten in the FIFA rankings, only Mali failed to win, as they drew 1-1 with Zambia in Casablanca.
That’s all from match day one, as we look forward to exciting results and performances on match day two, which starts on Friday.
