With AFCON 2025 less than two weeks away, excitement is building across the continent as Morocco prepares to host the 35th edition of Africa’s biggest football event.
The Atlas Lions arrive as overwhelming favourites – not only because they are playing at home, but because they come into the tournament on a staggering run of 18 consecutive victories, a world record in international football.
But if AFCON history teaches us anything, it’s that favourites don’t always win. And few people understand that better than Victor Ikpeba, former Super Eagles striker, AFCON 1994 champion and Bet9ja ambassador.
Speaking to us ahead of the tournament, Ikpeba reflected on why AFCON has become one of the most unpredictable competitions in world football.
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“Having the players is not a guarantee…”
Ikpeba knows what it takes to win AFCON – but he also knows that talent alone doesn’t secure the trophy.
“When we won it in 1994, we can say we had the players. Even in 1992 in Senegal, we had the players but didn’t quite get over the line,” he said. “So having the players is not a guarantee, and in this Africa Cup of Nations it’s very difficult to predict who wins it.”
His point is hard to argue with. The last eight editions have produced seven different champions, and even the strongest teams have been humbled when it matters most.
Ivory Coast 2023: The perfect example of AFCON chaos
No story highlights AFCON’s unpredictability better than Ivory Coast’s wild 2023 triumph – a run Ikpeba believes perfectly illustrates the tournament’s unique volatility.
“We didn’t see Côte d’Ivoire doing it last Nations Cup,” he said. “They had a very bad start and ended the tournament so well. Even after firing their manager, it was chaos. That’s the unpredictability of AFCON — it’s becoming more and more difficult.”
Tactical evolution
African football has changed dramatically over the last decade. Ikpeba points to coaching and tactical evolution as a major reason smaller nations now push the giants to the edge.
“Most of the managers set up their team defensively,” he explained. “Sometimes it’s so difficult for you to break down these teams.”
Even Morocco – semi-finalists at the 2022 World Cup – were eliminated early in the last AFCON. “They had a fantastic World Cup in Qatar, then crashed out. They didn’t even get to the semis,” Ikpeba noted. “That shows you how competitive it has become.”
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The rise of the ‘middle nations’
Ikpeba believes the gap between Africa’s traditional powers and its emerging nations has never been smaller.
“There are a lot of these middle teams in African football getting much better,” he said. “DR Congo is coming back to the old ways. Ghana had a fantastic World Cup campaign, but they didn’t even qualify for AFCON. It shows the difficulties.”
He points to recent World Cup qualifying shocks as further evidence.
“Look at Lesotho – they should have been the whipping boys, but they won some games. We saw how difficult it was for us to beat them in South Africa. And Zimbabwe drew with South Africa. It’s astonishing the progress of these smaller countries.”
“No more minnows in Africa”
For Ikpeba, this levelling of the playing field is what makes AFCON so compelling – and so difficult to predict.
“It’s good for football globally that there are no longer minnows in Africa,” he said. “The difference between the big African countries and the small African countries is not much anymore. You have to earn it when you play them.”
What to expect in Morocco
Group C – featuring Nigeria, Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania — is already being called one of the most competitive groups of the tournament.
Morocco’s form makes them favourites, while Senegal, Algeria, Egypt and holders Ivory Coast will all expect to challenge deep into January.
Bet9ja AFCON Outright Winner Odds
| Team | Odds |
| Morocco | 3.55 |
| Egypt | 6.50 |
| Algeria | 7.00 |
| Senegal | 7.00 |
| Nigeria | 10.00 |
| Tunisia | 13.00 |
| Ivory Coast | 13.00 |
| Mali | 13.00 |
| Cameroon | 17.00 |
| South Africa | 41.00 |
| DR Congo | 51.00 |
It’s now just 11 days til kick-off in Morocco! Bet on all the AFCON action at Bet9ja.
