Marrakech – The current Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) titleholders, Côte d’Ivoire, are set to make their tournament debut tonight when they take on Mozambique at the Grand Stade de Marrakech.
After a winning 2023 campaign at home, Franck Kessie and his teammates aim to become the first titleholders to retain AFCON since Egypt in 2010.
Tonight’s clash will mark the third meeting between Côte d’Ivoire and Mozambique, with the Elephants having won both previous match-ups 3-0 and 1-0 in 1986 and 1996, respectively.
The match will be the first Group F fixture of the 2025 AFCON, with Cameroon and Gabon set to face off a few hours later.
🚨🇨🇮 𝘊’𝘦𝘴𝘵 𝘭𝘦 𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳 𝘑 !
𝘕𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘦𝘯𝘵𝘢𝘮𝘰𝘯𝘴 𝘢𝘶𝘫𝘰𝘶𝘳𝘥’𝘩𝘶𝘪 𝘯𝘰𝘵𝘳𝘦 #𝘈𝘍𝘊𝘖𝘕2025 𝘧𝘢𝘤𝘦 𝘢𝘶 🇲🇿 𝘔𝘰𝘻𝘢𝘮𝘣𝘪𝘲𝘶𝘦.
𝘛𝘰𝘶𝘴 𝘥𝘦𝘳𝘳𝘪𝘦̀𝘳𝘦 𝘭𝘦𝘴 𝘌́𝘭𝘦́𝘱𝘩𝘢𝘯𝘵𝘴 🐘🇨🇮🔥 𝘥𝘦 𝘊𝘰̂𝘵𝘦 𝘥’𝘐𝘷𝘰𝘪𝘳𝘦 💪🏾⌚️18𝘏30 𝘎𝘔𝘛+1
🇨🇮17𝘏30 𝘎𝘔𝘛… pic.twitter.com/QJG7gQSd2O— Côte d’Ivoire 🇨🇮🐘 (@FIFCI_tweet) December 24, 2025
Match Details:
- Fixture: Côte d’Ivoire vs Mozambique
- Competition: CAF Africa Cup of Nations—Group F, Round 1
- Venue: Grand Stade de Marrakech—Marrakech, Morocco
- Date: Wednesday, December 24
- Kick-off: 6:30 p.m. (GMT +1)
- Referee: Samuel Uwikunda (Rwanda)
How to Watch
The match will be broadcast on beIN Sports (MENA, US, France), Channel 4seven (UK), and Arryadia TNT (Morocco).
Côte d’Ivoire Team News
The Elephants are among the favorites to progress onto the knockouts from Group F. Emerse Fae’s team still boasts key players from the AFCON 2023 triumph, such as midfielder Frank Kessie and center-backs Evan Ndicka and Odilon Kossounou.
Fae’s side has also incorporated some promising young talents. Most notably, Côte d’Ivoire’s winger pairing of Amad Diallo (23) and Yan Diomande (19) is one of the most exciting across the tournament.
Speaking to CAFonline.com, Kessie, captain of the Côte d’Ivoire national team, says his team is ready to tackle the extra pressure that comes with being titleholders.
“We are a team everyone wants to beat, and that inevitably brings extra pressure. But we took that into account from the start of our preparation,” Kessie said. “We know what it represents and we have worked to be ready to handle that responsibility.”
On the injury front, Utrecht striker Sebastien Haller, scorer of the title-winner in 2023, has been ruled out of the competition due to a hamstring injury. Aston Villa’s Evan Guessand has been called up to replace him.
Côte d’Ivoire Predicted XI (4-3-3): Fofana– Konan, Ndicka, Kossounou, Doue– Inao, Sangare, Kessie– Diomande, Diallo, Zaha.
Mozambique Team News
The Mambas make their sixth AFCON finals appearance today. In 15 matches in the competition, Mozambique have yet to claim a victory (four draws and 11 losses).
Today, Chinquinho Conde’s team will be clear underdogs, but the manager highlights the match as an opportunity to make history for his side.
“We’ve faced Côte d’Ivoire twice in the Africa Cup of Nations and lost. The third time could be the charm,” Conde said. “Life gives us opportunities to change history, and this is ours. We want to write a new story.”
The Mambas captain, Elias Gaspar Pelembe, also known as Domingues, reiterated similar feelings.
“We respect Côte d’Ivoire, we know their quality, but we will not be intimidated. We will play our game, limit mistakes, and believe,” Domingues told the Mozambique Football Federation. “Within the four lines, anything is possible, and either team can win.”
Mozambique Predicted XI (4-2-3-1): Ernan– Nanani, Dove, Mandava, Langa– Kambala, Amade– Witi, Bonde, Gildo– Ratifo
- Score Prediction: Côte d’Ivoire 2 – 0 Mozambique
