Overview:
Since Egypt’s three-peat, no defending champions have managed to defend their crown.
The Elephants aim to break that jinx in Morocco and will be one of the overwhelming favourites given the squad quality.
Nickname: The Elephants
Fifa rank: 42
Afcon Group:
Head coach: Emerse Fae
Group Stage fixtures:
Afcon appearances: 26 [1965, 1968, 1970, 1974, 1980, 1984, 1986, 1988, 1990, 1992, 1994, 1996, 1998, 2000, 2002, 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, 2015, 2017, 2019, 2021, 2023, 2025]
Best Afcon performance: Champions [1992, 2015, 2023]
How they qualified: Shockingly, the champions qualified as second placed in Group G behind Zambia with 12 points after four wins and two defeats in six matches.
Nevertheless, they were the top scorers in the group with 12 goals keeping four clean sheets and conceded just three goals.
Realistic chance at Afcon 2025: Since Egypt’s three-peat, no defending champions have managed to defend their crown.
The Elephants aim to break that jinx in Morocco and will be one of the overwhelming favourites given the squad quality.
Who is the star of the team? It is a team blended with youngsters and experience but the main man remains the skipper, Frank Kessie. But the team has other big names like Amad Diallo (Man United), Oumar Diakite and Sebastien Haller among others.
ELEPHANTS FINAL SQUAD
GOALKEEPERS: Yahia Fofana (Caykur Rizespor, Turkey), Mohamed Koné (Charleroi SC, Belgium), Alban Lafont (Panathinaikos, Greece)
DEFENDERS: Emmanuel Agbadou (Wolverhampton Wanderers, England), Boly Willy (Nottingham Forest, England), Ousmane Diomande (Sporting CP, Portugal)
Guela Doué (RC Strasbourg, France), Ghislain Konan (Gil Vicente, Portugal), Odilon Kossounou (Atalanta BC, Italy), Evan Ndicka (AS Roma, Italy), Christopher Operi (Istanbul Başakşehir, Turkey), Armel Zohouri (FC Iberia 1999, Georgia)
MIDFIELDERS: Seko Fofana (Stade Rennais, France), Jean-Philippe Gbamin (FC Metz, France), Christ Inao Oulaï (Trabzonspor, Turkey), Franck Kessié (Al-Ahli, Saudi Arabia), Ibrahim Sangaré (Nottingham Forest, England), Jean-Michael Seri (NK Maribor FC, Slovenia)
FORWARDS: Vakoun Bayo (Udinese Calcio, Italy), Oumar Diakité (Cercle Brugge, Belgium), Amad Diallo (Manchester United, England), Yan Diomande (RB Leipzig, Germany), Sébastien Haller (FC Utrecht, Netherlands), Jean-Philippe Krasso (Paris FC, France), Bazoumana Touré (TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Germany), Wilfried Zaha (Charlotte FC, United States)
STANDBY: Guessand Evann (Aston Villa, England), Guiagon Parfait (Royal Charleroi SC, Belgium)
