French sports media are holding their breath Wednesday, just hours before the “match of the summit” in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations semifinals, where host nation Morocco will face Nigeria.
The Atlas Lions’ journey so far has been widely praised, with the team now “on course to reach the highest FIFA ranking in its history,” according to several outlets.
“Morocco is ready to continue its frenzy and edge closer to its dream. Among the last four teams in the Africa Cup of Nations,” writes RMC SPORT. However, the publication notes the high stakes for Morocco, which has not won a continental title since 1976.
The match, which follows the other semifinal between Senegal and Egypt, pits the Nigerians, “dominant against Algeria in the quarterfinals”, against Morocco, a team that “has been carried by its home crowd since the start of the tournament” and has “cleared every hurdle, notably eliminating Cameroon in the previous round,” RMC SPORT reports.
L’Équipe highlights attacking midfielder Brahim Diaz as the “Moroccan X-factor” against Nigeria. Diaz, 26, has scored in every match so far, a first in AFCON history, with five goals in as many appearances, the newspaper notes.
For Le Parisien, the Moroccan team faces one of the most important matches in its history, a historic encounter that “has the entire nation on edge.” Rabat, crowded like a national holiday after Morocco’s win over Cameroon, alive with honking, engine roars, laughter, songs, and booming music until midnight, has now returned to its quiet… and its anxieties, writes the journalist reporting from the streets before kickoff at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
Radio France Internationale (RFI) captures a similar mood, stating on its website that Morocco will vibrate for its Atlas Lions, who face Nigeria on Wednesday, January 14, in the AFCON semifinals at home.
“Moroccans are dreaming of a ticket to the final and a crown,” RFI notes, asking how to approach a Nigerian side that “crushed Algeria in the previous round and remains difficult to read.”
The outlet continues: “One step. The last step. That is all that separates Morocco from the final of its 2025 AFCON at home, and a potential title, 50 years after their only triumph in Ethiopia.”
Ouest France adds: “Morocco set to make historic leap in FIFA rankings, surpassing Belgium and Germany.” The outlet notes that, after their quarterfinal win over Cameroon, the Atlas Lions “are guaranteed to reach the eighth spot, ahead of Belgium (9th) and Germany (10th).”
Indeed, the 2–0 victory over Cameroon earned Morocco 11.42 additional points, moving the team from 11th to 8th in the FIFA rankings, according to Football Meets Data. The article anticipates that Walid Regragui’s side could surpass Belgium and Germany, marking the best FIFA ranking ever for an African team.
Ouest France concludes that Morocco “could climb even higher in case of a home triumph on January 18, remaining just 27 points behind Brazil, fifth in the world.”
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