The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) runs from December 21 to January 18 in Morocco, with Egypt—record seven-time champions and three-time consecutive winners from 2006 to 2010—entering the tournament with 111 matches under their belt across 26 editions (60 wins, 24 draws, 27 losses).
Under coach Hossam Hassan, the Pharaohs have been training at the National Teams Center in Sixth of October City ahead of a friendly against Nigeria on December 16 at Cairo International Stadium, as part of final preparations for the 2025 AFCON.
Egypt will kick off their 2025 AFCON Group B campaign on December 22 against Zimbabwe, will face South Africa on December 26, and will wrap up the group stage versus Angola on December 29.
10 AFCON records
1. Egypt has won the competition a record seven times, including three titles in a row between 2006 and 2010. The Pharaohs have played 111 matches in 26 editions, winning 60, drawing 24 and losing 27, AFP reported.
2. Recently re-elected Cameroon football federation president and former star Samuel Eto’o scored a record 18 goals in six tournaments between 2000 and 2010.
3. The late Ivory Coast icon Laurent Pokou scored the most goals by an individual in a match – claiming five in a 6-1 group victory over Ethiopia at the 1970 tournament in Sudan.
4. Ndaye Mulamba, who died in 2019, holds the record for the most goals in a tournament, scoring nine for 1974 champions Zaire (now Democratic Republic of Congo) in Egypt.
5. The 1974 final in Cairo was the only one to be replayed. Mulamba scored both goals as Zaire beat Zambia 2-0 at the second attempt after a 2-2 draw.
6. The first final delivered the widest winning margin with Egypt beating Ethiopia 4-0 in Khartoum. Mohamed Diab El-Attar, popularly known as Diba, scored all four goals.
7. Nine finals have been decided by post-match penalties. The longest shootout was in 1992 with the Ivory Coast pipping Ghana 11-10 in Senegal to become champions for the first time.
8. Ghanaian Andre ‘Pele’ Ayew, Egyptian Ahmed Hassan, Tunisian Youssef Msakni and Cameroonian Rigobert Song have each played in a record eight tournaments.
9. Coach Hassan Shehata won a record three consecutive tournaments, guiding Egypt to victory in the 2006, 2008 and 2010 finals. Ghanaian Charles Gyamfi also won three finals, in 1963, 1965 and 1982.
10. Tunisia will hold the record for the most consecutive appearances at the tournament with 17 from 1994 to 2025. The Carthage Eagles hosted and won the 2004 edition.
Giants
Egypt (seven titles), Cameroon (five), Ghana (four), and Côte d’Ivoire and Nigeria (three each) have dominated the tournament, claiming 22 of 34 editions.
Egypt’s golden generation—Essam El-Hadary, Wael Gomaa, Mohamed Aboutreika and Mohamed Barakat—powered the Pharaohs to their historic three-peat from 2006 to 2010.
Absentees
Ghana and Cape Verde—both 2026 World Cup qualifiers—will miss AFCON 2025 after disastrous qualifying campaigns. Cape Verde managed just one win in six games, while four-time champions Ghana failed to win any of their matches.
