AFCON 2024 Favorites; Senegal, Morocco, Egypt and Ivory Coast. Leave a comment

AFCON 2024 or CAN 2024 (Coupe d’Afrique des Nations), is the main international men’s football tournament in Africa. The tournament was sanctioned by the Confederation of African Football (CAF) and was first held in 1957. Since 1968, the tournament has been held every two years, switching to odd years in 2013.

In the first tournament in 1957, only 3 countries participated: Egypt, Sudan and Ethiopia. South Africa was initially expected to participate but was excluded due to the apartheid policies of the then-ruling government. Since then, the tournament has grown significantly so holding a qualifying tournament was necessary. The number of teams participating in the tournament eventually reached 16 in 1998 (16 teams were scheduled to compete in 1996, but Nigeria withdrew, reducing the field to 15, and the same happened to Togo’s withdrawal in 2010), and until 2017, this format remained the same. Unchanged, the 16 teams were divided into 4 groups of 4 teams each, with the top 2 teams in each group qualifying for the “knockout” round. On 20 July 2017, the Africa Cup of Nations was moved from January to June and expanded from 16 to 24 teams.

There are currently six post-tournament awards

Best Player for most valuable player;

Top Goal scorer for most prolific goal scorer;

Best Goalkeeper for most outstanding goalkeeper;

Best Young Player for most outstanding young player;

Team of the Tournament for best combined team of players at the tournament;

Fair Play Award for the team with the best record of fair play.

 The latest CAN is the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations; This is the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations. The African International Men’s Football Championship is held every two years by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The tournament was hosted by Cameroon and took place from 9 January to 6 February 2022. With the Africa Cup of Nations expanding from 16 to 24 teams, six venues were used in five African cities. The six stadiums chosen to host the matches are Stade Olembe  and Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo, both located in the capital Yaoundé, Stade Japoma  in Douala, Stade de Limbé in Limbé, Stade Kouekong  in Bafoussam and Stade Roumde Adjia  in Garoua. The opening and final matches of the tournament took place at the new 60,000-seat Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé.

Algeria are the defending champions, but were eliminated in the first round after finishing bottom of the group. Senegal won its first CAN championship after defeating Egypt in the final 4-2 on penalties, following a 0-0 draw after extra time.

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the ongoing 34th edition of the biennial African association football tournament is organized by Confederation of African Football. It is hosted by Ivory Coast, the second time it has done so and the first since 1984.

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This edition of the tournament was originally planned as the third since 2019 to take place in the northern hemisphere summer, to reduce scheduling conflicts with European teams and club competitions. However, the tournament was postponed by CAF to take place from 13 January to 11 February 2024 on 3 July 2022 due to summer weather in Ivory Coast, while retaining the original name of the tournament because sponsorship purposes. This follows the 2021 edition in Cameroon which was also moved to the northern hemisphere winter for similar reasons. Senegal is the defending champion of CAN 2023 (which is taking place in 2024) having won the last edition in 2021.

Senegal, Morocco, Egypt and Ivory Coast are the CAN champions. With the participation of many star players, this tournament is becoming one of the most competitive AFCONs of all time. Senegal are looking to become the first back-to-back AFCON winners since Egypt completed the treble in 2010, while Morocco are hoping to claim the title of best African nation after a historic achievement at the 2022 World Cup. Senegal won its first CAN championship after defeating Egypt in the final 4-2 on penalties, following a 0-0 draw after extra time in 2021

List of AFCON 2024 Favorites.

1. Morocco

It’s certainly no surprise to see the top-ranked team and betting favorite picked as the likely winners of AFCON 2024 or CAN 2024, but there are plenty of reasons for that. Morocco became the first African country to  reach the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, under the guidance of outstanding goalkeeper Yassine Bounou, and with many other players taking on key roles at their clubs . Sofiyan Amrabat is still playing below the table at Manchester United, but understands his role in the national team, and Achraf Hakimi is undoubtedly a world-class full-back at PSG. Picking a favorite isn’t a bad ploy.

Senegal won three years ago as the highest-ranked team in the field, and finished second in 2019 as the highest-ranked team. Ivory Coast won the title in 2015 as the second highest-ranked team, with top-ranked Ghana also finishing second that year. The Atlas Lions have not reached the finals since winning their only title in 1976, making a habit of disappointing in this tournament of late, but the time has finally come for them to prove that They is the strongest team in Africa.

2. Senegal

“It just shows that if you work hard, if you persevere, you will get what you want, I am very emotional because the people of Senegal have wanted this trophy for 60 years.” These were the words of head coach Aliou Cisse after he guided Senegal to their first ever AFCON trophy in 2021, as they put their finaldefeat to Algeria two years prior firmly behind them. A 4-2 penalty shootout over Egypt in the final saw talisman Sadio Mané make history, as not only did he score the winning penalty, the then Liverpool man also became his country’s all-time goal scorer and became the first ever Senegalese player to be named AFCON Player of the Tournament.

Favorites to lift the trophy in AFCON 2024 and become the first side to win back-to-back tournaments since Egypt in 2008 and 2010, the Lions of Teranga have a host of top quality players to call upon for the tournament, including the aforementioned Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly, Edouard Mendy and Premier League stars Nicolas Jackson, Pape Matar Sarr and Idrissa Gana Gueye.

3. Côte d’Ivoire.

Having not gone past the quarter-final stage since winning the competition in 2015, Côte d’Ivoire will be hoping for home advantage. Can that help them to become the first host nation to win the tournament since Egypt in 2006. After going unbeaten in the group stages during the last tournament, many people were expected them to go far. A 5-4 penalty shootout defeat to eventual runners-up Egypt in the first knockout round put an end to their tournament before it even began.

After failing to qualify for their second consecutive World Cup, this home tournament is set to be one where they can give back to their fans. And hopefully become three-time AFCON champions after their success in 1992 and 2015.

4. Egypt.

Egypt is a legendary African Cup of Nations team with the most tournament trophies. They have won the African Cup of Nations more times than any other nation. Their fans are among the most loyal, and they have a rich history in the game. They will compete strongly in AFCON 2024.

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