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AFCON 2025 Favorites: Who Will Rise to the Challenge Against Ivory Coast?

AFCON 2025 in Morocco shapes up as a wide‑open tournament where holders Ivory Coast arrive with a target on their backs and a cluster of heavyweights – Morocco, Senegal, Nigeria, Egypt, Algeria and Cameroon – all capable of dethroning them. The quality of squads, the depth of tactical ideas and the tournament’s expanded 24‑team format mean the question is no longer “Can anyone stop Ivory Coast?” but “Who will be brave enough to seize the moment when it comes?”​ Setting the stage in Morocco AFCON 2025 runs from 21 December 2025 to 18 January 2026, with 24 teams competing across six Moroccan cities and nine stadiums. The tournament keeps the now‑familiar structure of six groups of four, with the top two and the four best third‑placed teams reaching the round of 16, which often produces chaotic, upset‑filled knockout brackets.​ The hosts Morocco headline Group A with Mali, Zambia and Comoros, while Ivory Coast are drawn into a star‑studded Group F with Cameroon, Gabon and Mozambique, ensu...
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Former Liverpool star stunned by Reds player: 'He made my head explode.

 Former Liverpool striker Michael Owen has stated that watching Darwin Nunez miss a wonderful opportunity against Everton was disheartening, given his prior performances this season.

Nunez has only scored once in the Premier League in his last nine appearances and has struggled in front of goal.

The attacker was once again wasteful on Wednesday night, as Liverpool lost their first Merseyside derby at Goodison Park since 2010.

The Uruguayan smashed a sitter straight at Everton goalkeeper Jordan Pickford when through on goal, and Owen confessed he couldn't believe what he saw.

The former Liverpool striker recalled Nunez's spectacular finish a few weeks back, when he chipped the Brentford goalie.

Owen admitted that he couldn't believe the same striker shot straight at the goalkeeper despite having a gaping goal in front of him.

On Premier League Productions, the former Red stated, "The Nunez finish just made my brain explode tonight."

"I just can't believe someone was sprinting through against Brentford a few weeks ago and chipping the goalie.

"I couldn't believe my eyes how daring, classy, and good a finish it was, but I stated at the time that it was the wrong thing to do, and if he's thinking like that in front of the goal, God only knows what he's thinking in general.

"When you're in this circumstance and the goalkeeper is at the front post, you consider the size of the goal to the right.

"I cannot get my head around how you can finish like that and be so calm and calculated and confident in one of the most difficult finishes known to man and then you get a simple situation here, you just put your head down and you blast it down the middle."

Nunez has eleven Premier League goals in 32 appearances this season and has yet to entirely convince some supporters, despite Liverpool's large outlay to get him. 
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