Morocco want to crown their home tournament, Senegal want to play the party crasher. In the final of the Africa Cup on Sunday (20:00), the continent's strongest representatives on paper will meet.
18.01.2026, 04:01
SDA
Morocco, ranked eleventh in the world, will have the crowd behind them in Rabat, while Senegal, ranked 19th in the FIFA rankings, will be relying on Sadio Mané. The long-serving Liverpool striker, who has been working in Saudi Arabia for two and a half years following his brief stint with Bayern Munich, has already shot the "Lions of Teranga" into the final.
For the "Lions of the Atlas", there should be an already historic happy ending in the capital. The last time Morocco won the Africa Cup was in 1976, when only eight nations took part in the tournament. 50 years later, the North Africans, led by PSG star Achraf Hakimi, are aiming to win their second title at the continental tournament. The last final match to date, in 2004, was lost to Tunisia. Their opponents have much more experience of the final. The Senegalese are going for their third title since 2019. The West Africans won in 2022.
Final of the best teams in Africa
"It's a final between the two best teams in Africa in the last three years," said Morocco coach Walid Regragui. The French-born coach led the North Africans to the World Cup semi-finals just over three years ago and is now aiming for the big time. But Senegal have a great team, emphasized the 50-year-old. "I love Senegal. It has always been a fraternal nation for the Moroccans."
Regragui also emphasized the importance of the match for the external impact of the entire Africa Cup. The fact that the two best nations were facing each other was "very beneficial for the image and perception of the tournament". There were also a few incidents of indiscipline at this edition. Cameroon's head coach Samuel Eto'o was suspended during the tournament, while Algeria chased the referee into the dressing room after their quarter-final loss to Nigeria.
Senegal hope for talisman Mané
The Senegalese will be without their captain Kalidou Koulibaly and midfielder Habib Diarra in the final due to suspension. The focus in the 70,000-capacity Stade Prince Moulay Abdallah will be on Mané. The 33-year-old national hero of his country is virtually the talisman of his team. Mané scored the golden goal in the semi-final against Mohamed Salah's Egyptians - and then announced that the final would be his last appearance at the Africa Cup. "I hope we bring the trophy to Dakar," said Cristiano Ronaldo's club colleague on Al-Nassr. "We know how to play a final. A final is there to be won."
The Moroccans will make it difficult for Mané, however. They already took Nigeria's star Victor Osimhen out of the game in the semi-final. Hakimi and Co. have only conceded one goal in six games at the tournament so far: a penalty in the second group game against Mali.
