2025 AFCON Draw: Which Groups Could Ligue 1 Players Feature In?

If you missed the draw, don't worry—here's a quick overview of the groups and the standout players these national teams have the potential to call up when the tournament kicks off in December.

Group A

Morocco

In a group that includes Zambia, the host nation will look to win their first AFCON trophy since 1976 and will have the home crowd fueling them. The Atlas Lions will have many talented players from Ligue 1 McDonald's at their disposal to call up, like Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain), Eliesse Ben Seghir (AS Monaco), Benjamin Bouchouari (Saint-Étienne), Amine Harit (Olympique de Marseille), Osame Sahraoui (LOSC Lille), among other players that could be on manager Walid Regragui's radar.

Mali

Morocco will have plenty of talented players from France's top flight to choose from, but Mali isn’t lacking in options either. Stade Brestois' Kamory Doumbia headlines the marquee players Les Aigles can call up when forming their squad for AFCON. Other Ligue 1 McDonald's players that will be in manager Éric Chelle's sight are Boubakar Kouyaté (Montpellier), Falaye Sacko (Montpellier), Lassine Sinayoko (Auxerre), Ibrahim Sissoko (Saint-Étienne) among other players that can be called up.

Comoros

Les Coelacantes will have some Ligue 1 McDonald's talent at their disposal for their AFCON squad, with Warmed Omari, currently on loan at Olympique Lyonnais from Stade Rennais, and FC Nantes' Adel Mahamoud among the names potentially making the cut for Comoros.

Group B

Egypt

In a group that includes South Africa, the seven-time AFCON winners will look to add an eighth trophy and can count on France's top flight to supply them with quality players when forming their squad. Nantes' Mostafa Mohamed, OGC Nice's Mohamed Abdelmonem, and Le Havre's Ahmed Hassan are names to watch when Egypt forms their team for the tournament.

Angola

The Palancas Negras have Lyon's Clinton Mata and RC Lens' M'Bala Nzola that they can call up when forming their team for AFCON later this year.

Zimbabwe

Keep an eye on Stade de Reims' Marshall Munetsi when Zimbabwe announces their squad for AFCON.

Group C

Nigeria

In a group that includes Tanzania and Uganda, the three-time AFCON winners will have a few Ligue 1 McDonald's players like Nice's Terem Moffi, AJA's Gabriel Osho, and Nantes' Moses Simon on their radar to call up for the competition.

Tunisia

Ligue 1 McDonald's is home to players who could make it into Tunisia's squad for the upcoming AFCON, with Nice's Ali Abdi and Montpellier's Wahbi Khazri among the top names to keep an eye on as the tournament nears.

Group D

Senegal

In a group that includes Botswana, Monaco's Lamine Camara will be one name to watch when Senegal form their squad for the upcoming AFCON. Other players being considered include Monaco's Krépin Diatta, RC Strasbourg's Habib Diarra, Angers SCO's Bamba Dieng, and Lens' Nampalys Mendy, among the Ligue 1 talents that could be part of manager Pape Thiaw's squad.

DR Congo

DR Congo will count on a handful of players from France's top flight as Lille's Ngal'ayel Mukau, Marseille's Chancel Mbemba, Montpellier's Dimitry Bertaud, and Saint-Étienne's Dylan Batubinsika have the potential to be part of the AFCON squad.

Benin

Angers' Cédric Hountondji will be one player from Ligue 1 McDonald's that Benin are counting on to help them be a surprise team in AFCON.

Group E

Algeria

In a group that also includes Equatorial Guinea, Burkina Faso, and Sudan, Algeria will be looking to win Group E, counting on players like Lille's Nabil Bentaleb and Aïssa Mandi, Lyon's Saïd Benrahma, and Nice's Hicham Boudaoui to play a significant role.

Group F

Côte d'Ivoire

In a group that also includes Mozambique, the reigning AFCON champions will be looking to go back-to-back and are counting on players like Nice's Jérémie Boga, who was part of the squad that won the 2023 edition. Other players on that trophy-winning team were Reims' Oumar Diakité, Rennes' Seko Fofana, Angers' Yahia Fofana, and Monaco's Wilfried Singo, so those will be names to watch as all these players can earn another call-up for this competition to help defend their title.

Cameroon

Ligue 1 will have several players ready to represent Cameroon, with Jean-Charles Castelletto from Nantes, Frank Magri from Toulouse, and Christopher Wooh from Rennes among those expected to be on the national team's radar for this competition.

Gabon

Toulouse's Shavy Babicka and Angers' Jim Allevinah are players to keep an eye on when Gabon announces their squad for AFCON.

Photo credit: @CAF_Online

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