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...
Manchester City's Jack Grealish has spoken out about his 'heartbroken' summer following his omission from the England squad for the European Championships in Germany.
The 28-year-old was unexpectedly left out of Gareth Southgate's 26-man team for the European Championship this summer, despite being included to an initial 33-man provisional training group.
Grealish, who has previously made 36 appearances for England, missed out on a second consecutive European Championship final after the Three Lions lost 2-1 to Spain in Berlin earlier this month. The Birmingham-born talent was one of several surprising absences from England's tournament team, including Marcus Rashford, James Maddison, and Harry Maguire, who were all left out by previous boss Southgate. Grealish has struggled throughout the 2023/24 season leading up to the competition, failing to appear for Pep Guardiola's side since a 5-1 victory against Wolves at the Etihad Stadium in early May.
Grealish made just 26 starts for Manchester City last season, netting three goals - his lowest score since joining the club from Aston Villa for £100 million in 2021. Speaking to reporters on Monday night before of Manchester City's penultimate pre-season friendly against Barcelona in Orlando, Florida, Jack Grealish was questioned about his absence from Southgate's England team over the summer. "I'll be honest, it was probably - football wise - the most difficult thing I've ever had to deal with, in terms of my own career," Grealish told the media.
"I was completely heartbroken." And then, obviously, when you're on vacation, wherever I was, every time you turn on the phone, TV, or anything, you just see it." He went on to say, "It was difficult not to notice. But for now, I'm moving forward. I simply have to use that as fuel for this season, and try to maintain the same mentality I had two years ago, during my first season at City.
"I don't think I performed as well as I could of, and then in the second season, I played in a lot of the games, and that was down to the first season that I had and I wanted to come back stronger and I certainly did that, and hopefully I can do that again now." Grealish is a member of Guardiola's pre-season touring squad in the United States this summer, with Manchester City having a few first-team players available for the four-game tour, which includes games against Celtic, AC Milan, Barcelona and Chelsea. The Sky Blues have two remaining matches after losing to Celtic and AC Milan in their first two pre-season friendly.
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