Africa Cup of Nations 2025 winner odds: Who will claim the prize?

Jan 5, 2026 - 12:45

The knockout rounds of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations 2025 are well underway, with hosts Morocco and all the other pre-tournament favourites having safely navigated the group stage.

The tournament kicked off on 21st December with twenty four teams vying for the title. The final will take place on Sunday 18th January at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

Our Africa Cup of Nations 2025 guide breaks down all of those still in the fight to be crowned continental champions.

Africa Cup of Nations winner odds

Here are the odds from our recommended football bookies:

Morocco – 2/1 with BetVictor
Senegal – 4/1 with Sky Bet
Nigeria – 15/2 with SBK
Algeria – 8/1 with William Hill
Egypt – 17/2 with Paddy Power
Ivory Coast – 12/1 with BetVictor
Mali – 20/1 with Betway
Cameroon – 22/1 with William Hill
DR Congo – 40/1 with BetMGM
Burkina Faso – 50/1 with Betfred
Mozambique – 150/1 with Betway
Benin – 150/1 with Tote

*Odds are subject to change (Updated on 5th January).

Favourites to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025

With some of the big names having already qualified for the quarter-finals, and with the other favourites expected to join them in the next two days, here is an updated look at the frontrunners for the Africa Cup of Nations.

Morocco – 2/1

Morocco became the first African team in the history of the World Cup to reach the semi-finals in 2022. The Atlas Lions knocked out Spain and Portugal on their way to a fourth-place finish in Qatar. They also have home advantage on their side this winter, so it is no surprise to see them at the top of the betting charts.

Morocco have made good use of their European diaspora in recent years, with Brahim Díaz, Achraf Hakimi (both Spain), Sofyan Amrabat, Noussair Mazraoui (both Netherlands) and Bilal El Khannouss (Belgium) all born overseas.

Díaz scored the tournament’s opening goal as well as the winner against Tanzania in the hosts’ last 16 clash. The Real Madrid playmaker is one of four players to have netted three times so far, along with teammate Ayoub El Kaabi.

Back Morocco to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 at 2/1 with BetVictor

Senegal – 4/1

Senegal finally ended their remarkable run without an Africa Cup of Nations trophy in 2021, two years after they were beaten finalists. When Aliou Cissé called time on his nine-year tenure as manager in 2024, Senegal opted for the continuity candidate in the form of Pape Thiaw, who previously worked alongside Cissé.

Sadio Mané, Édouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly will be familiar names to followers of European football, although all three are now based in Saudi Arabia.

With Nicolas Jackson, Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaïla Sarr providing additional options up front alongside Mané, Senegal were tipped to score plenty of goals and, at time of writing, they are the most prolific team so far having added another three against Sudan in their last 16 tie – taking their tally to 10.

Select Senegal to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 at 4/1 with Sky Bet

Nigeria – 15/2

Unlike Morocco and Senegal, Nigeria will be absent from the upcoming World Cup.

The most populous nation in Africa will not be represented in the first ever 48-team edition of the tournament, having lost a playoff tie to DR Congo on penalties in November. It’s the first time the Super Eagles will miss back-to-back World Cups since they first appeared back in 1994.

Winning the Africa Cup of Nations would go some way to making amends, and Éric Chelle’s team seem to have shaken off the disappointment quickly. They were one of just two teams to win all of their group games.

Ademola Lookman – who scored a hat trick in the 2024 Europa League final – is in the running for the Golden Boot having scored twice in those three games. Victor Osimhen, their out-and-out centre forward, is widely considered to be one of the best in the world.

Go for Nigeria to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 at 15/2 with SBK

Algeria – 8/1

The other faultless team in the group stages were Algeria, who are the only nation in the tournament to border Morocco. The Desert Warriors also have recent experience of lifting the trophy, having done so in 2019.

Riyad Mahrez is still part of the national team setup at the age of 34, and is the tournament’s joint-top scorer with three goals so far. Man City’s Rayan Äit-Nouri and Borussia Dortmund’s Ramy Bensebaini bring further top-level experience to a well-rounded squad.

Of the newer generation, Ibrahim Maza is one to watch. The Berlin-born winger has caught the eye at Bayer Leverkusen, helping them fill the sizeable void left by Florian Wirtz.

Tip Algeria to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 at 8/1 with William Hill

Egypt – 17/2

The most successful country of all time in this competition, Egypt have been crowned kings of the continent on no fewer than seven occasions.

They won three editions in a row in 2006, 2008 and 2010, but the Pharaohs have now gone 15 years without a title. They’ve had a couple of near misses during that time – finishing as runners-up in 2017 and 2021.

Mohamed Salah has made headlines recently off the pitch, which could spell the end of his Liverpool career, but he remains the best player in African football – he’s been on target twice so far. He’s being supported up top by Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush – making for the most high-profile strike pairing at the tournament.

Egypt tend to be difficult to play against, although their tendency towards tactical conservatism has at times worked against them. They should sweep Benin aside in their last 16 tie later today, but tougher tests will lie ahead.

Choose Egypt to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 at 17/2 with Paddy Power

Ivory Coast – 12/1

Ivory Coast won the previous edition of the tournament in dramatic fashion which we explore later in this article.

While they don’t have home advantage this time, they arrived in great form having won eight and lost only two of their World Cup qualifiers to seal a place in the USA, Canada and Mexico. They went on to top the trickiest of the six groups ahead of Cameroon, Mozambique and Gabon with seven points.

The Elephants no longer have the most gifted squad in Africa as they did when the Touré brothers, Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou were in their pomp, but they do have former Crystal Palace talisman Wilfried Zaha and will also have high hopes for Amad Diallo and Yan Diomande – the latter of whom is attracting interest from some of Europe’s biggest clubs.

Back Ivory Coast to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 at 12/1 with BetVictor

Dark horses to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 winner odds

These next three teams are considered outsiders, but have some notable players and could prove tricky opponents for who they face next. The first two have also already secured quarter-final berths.

Mali – 20/1

Mali will be looking to become first-time Africa Cup of Nations winners in January 2026.

Tom Saintfiet is a manager with vast experience of African football having previously led Namibia, Zimbabwe, Malawi and Togo, while the presence in the squad of Yves Bissouma, Amadou Haidara and Lassine Sinayoko means Mali do have quality at their disposal. Sinayoko is one of the four joint-top scorers of the tournament so far with three goals.

Mali managed to secure second place in Group A behind Morocco with just three draws, and will be the underdog heading into the quarter-final against Senegal.

Choose Mali to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 at 20/1 with Betway

Cameroon – 22/1

A historically big player in African football, Cameroon are behind only Egypt in terms of continental titles.

They have succeeded at the Africa Cup of Nations five times, the most recent being in 2017 when a side manager by Hugo Broos confounded expectations at the tournament in Gabon.

Cameroon have not been firing on all cylinders of late, however. They lost in the World Cup play-offs in November and had won only one of their last four games ahead of the tournament.

But in Manchester United’s Bryan Mbeumo, Cameroon do have one of Africa’s best players right now and they also have teenage striker Christian Kofane, who is generating a lot of buzz in the Bundesliga with Bayer Leverkusen. It was his goal that proved to be the winner against South Africa yesterday, setting up a quarter-final against the hosts.

Go for Cameroon to win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 at 22/1 with William Hill

DR Congo – 40/1

DR Congo are being priced at 40/1 but have a solid squad and will make for a tough last 16 opponent for Algeria tomorrow.

As mentioned earlier, it was they who knocked Nigeria out of World Cup qualifying and they’ve followed that up with seven points from nine in Group D here – defeating Benin and Botswana with clean sheets and holding Senegal to a 1-1 draw.

West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka is probably their biggest name, having switched international allegiance (from England) last year.

Back DR Congo to spring a surprise and win the Africa Cup of Nations 2025 at 40/1 with BetMGM

Key dates at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025

The Africa Cup of Nations 2025 began on 21st December with the hosts Morocco seeing off Comoros 2-0. The group stage concluded on New Year’s Eve, where the top two in each section – as well as the four best third-place finishers – advanced to the knockout rounds.

The round of 16 got underway on 3rd January and will wrap up tomorrow, with the quarter-finals booked in for 9th and 10th January. Both semi-finals are scheduled for 14th January, followed by the third-place play-off on the 17th and the final on the 18th.

Matches will be played at nine different stadiums in the following cities: Rabat (four), Agadir, Casablanca, Fez, Marrakesh and Tangier. The near-70,000 capacity Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat will stage the final.

What happened at the Africa Cup of Nations 2023

Ivory Coast were the winners of the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 on home soil. After only just scraping through to the knockout phase, the Ivorians sacked manager Jean-Louis Gasset ahead of the last 16.

It was a risky decision but one that paid off. Led by Emerse Faé in the dugout, Ivory Coast beat Senegal, Mali and DR Congo in the knockout rounds, before seeing off Nigeria 2-1 in the final. It was the third time les Éléphants had lifted the trophy.

FAQs about the Africa Cup of Nations 2025

1. Which teams missed out on the Africa Cup of Nations 2025?

Cape Verde will feature at World Cup 2026 next summer, but they failed to qualify for the Africa Cup of Nations 2025. The Gambia, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Mauritania and Namibia will also be watching from home after taking part in 2023.

The most high-profile absentees are Ghana, who inexplicably finished bottom of their qualification group behind Angola, Sudan and Niger. The Black Stars had previously reached 10 consecutive editions of African football’s flagship event.

2. Who are the debutants at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025?

There are no debutants at the Africa Cup of Nations, which has been made easier to qualify for since the expansion to 24 teams in 2019. Comoros and Botswana are competing for only the second time, while this will be Tanzania’s fourth edition of the competition.

As of 2025, only 10 sides have never participated at an Africa Cup of Nations: Central African Republic, Chad, Djibouti, Eritrea, Eswatini, Lesotho, Sao Tome and Principe, Seychelles, Somalia and South Sudan.

3. Which players will take part at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025?

There will be plenty of world class talent on show at the Africa Cup of Nations 2025, including Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, Paris Saint-Germain full-back Achraf Hakimi and Galatasaray striker Victor Osimhen.

The scheduling of the tournament in the middle of the domestic season in Europe is a long-time source of frustration for managers in the Premier League, La Liga, Serie A, Ligue 1, the Bundesliga and beyond, who have to make do without some of their best players for over a month.

About the author

Greg Lea

Greg Lea is a freelance football writer from London. He predominantly covers the Premier League and has had work published by the Guardian, FourFourTwo, ESPN and others.

Follow Greg on X: @GregLeaFootball

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