AFCON 2025 Preview: Group C

The 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) kicks off this weekend. The tournament will be hosted by Morocco, starting on 21 December 2025 and crossing over to January 2026. Group C in the tournament features the Super Eagles of Nigeria, North African giants Tunisia, and East African middleweights Uganda and Tanzania. We are running a group-by-group preview of all teams, and this afternoon we lookat Group C.

Who will win Group C

Nigeria

The Super Eagles will be looking to bring the AFCON title back to Nigeria, a trophy they haven’t won since 2013. Nigeria is the fourth most fancied team to win AFCON with a 8% probability to win overall. They have been drawn alongside Tunisia, Uganda and Tanzania – a group to provide plenty of spoils for a team that has also struggled to qualify for next year’s 2026 FIFA World Cup. Nigeria tends to go far when they are involved in AFCON competitions, finishing 3rd (8 times), runners-up 5 times and winning the trophy on three occasions. In 88% of simulations, Nigeria progress from the group, making them favourites to win Grpup C.

Players to watch: Victor Osimhen (Galatasaray), Ademola Lookman (Atalanta), Alex Iwobi and Samuel Chukwueze (both Fulham FC).

Tunisia

Tunisia has made a statement by recalling veteran left-back Ali Maaloul as the Eagles of Carthage prepare for a challenging campaign. Maaloul will make his fifth appearance at this tournament as coach Sami Trabelsi has chosen to mix experience and youth. The North Africans are amongst the top eight teams to win AFCON and have been given a 6.8% chance of winning the trophy. They last won the tournament in 2004, yet have made at least the quarter-finals at four of the last five editions. The game against Nigeria will be the key game here, and the winner will be expected to top the group, with prediction models suggesting both teams will go far in the tournament.

Players to watch: Seifeddine Jaziri (Zamalek), Naim Sliti (Al-Shamal), Hannibal Mejbri (Burnley FC)

Uganda

The Cranes will be making their eighth appearance at the AFCON finals, following seven previous participations, the last of which was in 2019. That time, they made it out of the group before losing to a solo Sadio Mane (Senegal) goal in the Round of 16. Belgian coach Paul Put and his team know that a third-place group spot is well up for grabs between them and their neighbours, Tanzania. They might grab a point or even a famous win against Nigeria or Tunisia, with the all important decider being this derby match. Should this end in a draw on Matchday 2, both teams may be forced to push for a win on Matchday 3 against the traditional giants Nigeria and Tunisa.

Players to watch: Steven Mukwala (Simba SC), Rogers Mato (Vardar Skopje), Khalid Aucho (Singida Black Stars)

Tanzania

For the first time in AFCON history, Tanzania are in back-to-back AFCON finals. They were impressive in qualifying, eliminating one of the continent’s top teams Guinea en route to Morocco. That will give them confidence that they can do it against the best teams on the continent this time around. The Taifa Stars finished bottom of their group in the 2023 AFCON edition, scoring only one goal and conceding four in a winless campaign. Indeed, they have never won a game at AFCON (P9 W0 D3 L6). They, along with Uganda, will be hoping to secure one of the precious third spots to qualify for the last 16, and a first AFCON win could not come at a better time. The probability computer is giving them a 46.4% chance of qualifying for the next round.

Players to watch: Simon Msuva (Al-Talaba), Feisal Salum (Azam FC), Pascal Msindo (Azam FC), Yakoub Suleiman (Simba SC)