AFCON 2024 preview: who will take home the glory in Africa’s showpiece event?

The 34th edition of the African Cup of Nations AFCON 2024 the tournament that changes lives, it’s time to take a closer look to see who will be at this dazzling event that always causes surprises and unearths incredible new talent. 

Here's a graphic of the draw for the 2024 Afcon finals in the Ivory Coast. pic.twitter.com/G44ZcS5z2V

— The Namibian (@TheNamibian) October 12, 2023

Favourites:

Senegal. Current betting favourites, defending Champions and featuring expert manager Aliou Cisse, this is a loaded team. Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly, Nico Jackson, Pape Matar Sarr and Idrissa Gana Gueye are in this heavyweight side who are surely ravenous to add a 2nd title.

“It just shows that if you work hard, if you persevere, you will get what you want. I am very emotional because the people of Senegal have wanted this trophy for 60 years.” – Aliou Cisse 

Morocco. The perennial underachievers. After a stunning World Cup semi-final campaign that almost saw them reach the final, they will surely break their recent poor record right? With Achraf Hakimi, Sofyan Amrabat, Nayef Aguerd and Hakim Ziyech, this is a team who know they need to step up before the golden generation passes.

Underdogs: 

Nigeria. 23-year-old Victor Boniface has 16 goals already for Bayer 04 Leverkusen this season and is on fire. With Napoli’s Victor Osimhen right next to him and bringing his 20 international goals in just 28 games, they have firepower in droves and will be a side no one will want to face.

South Africa. The former African powerhouse failed to qualify for the last tournament and needed this badly. Led by Belgian manager Hugo Broos, they squeaked through but won’t care about that now. This is a team that has nothing to lose and welcomes back Burnley striker Lyle Foster who has bravely faced his mental health problems head-on. They will be hungry to impress and could be a dangerous dark-horse to cause an upset. 

Players to watch: 

Mo Salah. With 53 goals for his country, Mo wants the AFCON trophy real bad. The Egypt star has been in good form this season with 12 goals in the Premier League. He will lead his side with his heart on his sleeve and really needs his teammates to step up for them to have a chance at all.

Mohammed Kudus. The new West Ham star has been in incredible form lately. He’s quick, is tough to stop and certainly knows where the net is. The Ghana star will be keen to back up his mouth-watering World Cup campaign.

Andre Onana. It’s been a tough season for the Manchester United shot-stopper. With lots of injuries and poor form in front of him, it’s been a challenging start to his career at Old Trafford. He will be delighted to join his Cameroonian country-mates as they push for a return to the heights of yesteryear.

An exciting tournament awaits that will surely grab our interest. With so many quality teams and superb players eager to get their next big club move, there will be fireworks aplenty in AFCON 24.

Sources: Squawka, Daily Maverick, CAF, The Namibian and Transfermarkt