AFCON 2025 countdown: Hosts Morocco unveil final squad for home title push

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The Atlas Lions of Morocco have released their final 28-man list for the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) Morocco 2025, confirming the players who will lead the host nation’s charge for a long-awaited continental title on home soil.

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The Atlas Lions, one of Africa’s most technically gifted and tactically consistent sides over the last decade, will be hosting AFCON for only the second time in their history.

The first was in 1988, when the tournament featured eight teams and Morocco finished in fourth place.

Despite their rich footballing pedigree, their only AFCON triumph remains the 1976 title, won in Ethiopia.

The 2025 tournament therefore carries symbolic weight: a chance to lift the trophy at home, nearly half a century after their lone continental success.

Balanced squad for a high-expectation tournament

Head coach Walid Regragui has assembled a squad blending World Cup-tested experience, dynamic young talent, and strong domestic performers.

The list features 26 main squad players across all departments — 3 goalkeepers, 9 defenders, 6 midfielders, and 8 forwards — plus two reserve players on standby.

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Below is the full squad as released.

FINAL SQUAD

Goalkeepers (3)

Yassine Bounou

Munir El Kajoui

El Mehdi Al Harrar

Defenders (9)

Achraf Hakimi

Mohamed Chibi

Jawad El Yamiq

Romain Saïss

Abdelhamid Ait Boudlal

Nayef Aguerd

Adam Masina

Noussair Mazraoui

Anass Salah-Eddine

Midfielders (6)

Oussama Targhalline

Sofyan Amrabat

Ismael Saibari

Neil El Aynaoui

Bilal El Khannouss

Azzedine Ounahi

Forwards (8)

Brahim Diaz

Ilias Akhomach

Chemsdine Talbi

Youssef En-Nesyri

Ayoub El Kaabi

Soufiane Rahimi

Abdessamad Ezzalzouli

Eliesse Ben Seghir

Reserve Players (2)

Hamza Igamane

Youssef Belammari

A golden opportunity

Morocco enter AFCON 2025 as one of the tournament favourites, buoyed by their historic 2022 World Cup semi-final run and consistent performances in major competitions.

The squad includes some of Europe’s most influential African players — notably Bounou, Hakimi, Saïss, Amrabat, Ounahi and En-Nesyri — alongside a new generation breaking through in top leagues.

Hosting AFCON again comes nearly a decade after Morocco famously withdrew from hosting the 2015 edition due to Ebola-related public health concerns across West Africa.

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The Confederation of African Football (CAF) subsequently moved the tournament to Equatorial Guinea.

With the 2025 event now back on Moroccan soil, the federation is determined to deliver a model tournament both on and off the pitch.

For the Atlas Lions, the expectations will be make it all the way to the final, and attempt to win a second continental title for the first time since 1976.