Senegal and Morocco meet in the AFCON finals this Sunday. The nominal host is Senegal, but the actual host is Morocco, where the tournament is played.
The Moroccan team reached the semis in the previous World Cup, yet they haven’t won the AFCON since 1976, and this is a big deal for them. They have to win it and make a good intro for the upcoming World Championship this summer. The last time Morocco reached the finals was in 2004 when they lost to another tournament host, Tunisia, 2-1.
Senegal won the tournament in 2021, beating Egypt in the final. They were one of the top contenders to take the title here, but not the biggest, and for many, their appearance in the finals was a surprise.
AFCON odds favor Morocco, though, not much, and we can say that apart from the home-field edge, they have everything else leveled.
Senegal VS Morocco
Senegal
Mane and the guys look good, and they haven’t oscillated a lot during the tournament. This team is highly adaptable and known to adjust its performance against any given rival. So it’s no wonder they have 5 wins and one tie here in Morocco.
The AFCON final is set:
πΈπ³ Senegal vs. Morocco π²π¦ pic.twitter.com/8y7uMIWpHF
— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 14, 2026
Senegal beat Egypt in the semis, 1-0, with the sole goal coming from… who else than Sadio Mane, who scored the winner in the 78th minute. It was his second of the tournament with three assists, too. Nicolas Jackson has two goals as well, though Bayern’s striker added just one assist.
In three of the past four matches Senegal played, we saw them keeping clean sheets, and that’s a characteristic of this unit. Over the past 10 matches, in 7 of them, Senegal kept its net intact.
Morocco
The euphoria is high in Morocco, putting massive pressure on Walid Regragui’s team. We’ve often seen situations like these in the past, where the home team reaches the finals, and the public pressure breaks the hosts.
Morocco had luck against Nigeria. Despite having better chances during the regular time and pressuring the Super Eagles, Morocco had to go through penalties to reach the finals. And we all know that the penalty shootout is 70% luck. To be honest, the Moroccans deserved fortune here.
Morocco π²π¦ have πππππ lost with Brahim πβοΈ
πππππππππππππππππππππ
π‘ππ«π§ π¨π£: the AFCON final vs Senegal πΈπ³
Will he keep his record intact? π pic.twitter.com/2cDclxSTk7
— 433 (@433) January 16, 2026
When talking about defense, Morocco also has a fantastic one, having gone four games without allowing a goal. They’ve allowed just one goal in the entire tournament, conceded against Mali in the second round of the group stage. So, for the moment, this smells of a tight and low-efficiency encounter. What we forgot to say here, is that Brahim Diaz is the top goalscorer with 5 hits so far.
Senegal VS Morocco Head to Head
Morocco beat Senegal at the African Nations Championship in August this year. It was 1-1 after 90 minutes, and Morocco advanced to the finals following penalties.
Prior to that, the last meeting was in 2020, when Morocco won 3-0 in a friendly international.
Senegal VS Morocco Predictions
Both teams rely upon defense. That’s a fact, and even though many won’t like what we’re going to say now, that’s the reality – AFCON finals will end with two goals at most. Simply, both teams have excellent defensive lines, and not just that, but a systematic defense overall, with all the players defending, being perfectly synced.
The stakes are high, and neither head coach wants to concede early. Such a scenario would be catastrophic for the team trailing, and its chances of coming back would be very, very low.
Therefore, to avoid any risk when it comes to our betting, our final pick is under 2.5 goals.
