The 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament commenced last Sunday with a thrilling opening fixture between Morocco and Comoros.
Over the course of four days, the 24 qualified teams battled each other at the nine stadiums for match-day one action, setting up a more fascinating matchup in the coming match-days.
Tournament favorites Senegal, Nigeria, Egypt and Morocco all claimed impressive victories to kickstart their campaigns, while defending champions Ivory Coast also sneaked past Mozambique courtesy of a strike from Amad Diallo.
Across the 12 matches played, 30 goals were scored with Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez, Senegal’s Nicolas Jackson and Tunisia’s Elias Achouri setting the early pace for the prestigious Golden Boot award with two goals each.
Several players also impressed across the various stadiums on match-day one and in this article, SportPremi reveals the best 11 players on the opening match-day of the 2025 African Cup of Nations tournament;
Formation: 3-4-3
Goalkeeper – Washington Arubi (Zimbabwe)
Veteran goalkeeper Washington Arubi is our top pick for the goalkeeper of the round as his stunning saves prevented Zimbabwe from falling to a heavy defeat against Egypt.
Despite conceding twice, including a stoppage-time goal from Mohamed Salah, the 40-year-old made nine saves in the match and even created one chance for his teammates.
If the Warriors are to progress beyond the group stages, a lot will hinge on the performance of the highly-experienced goalkeeper.
Defenders – Semi Ajayi (Nigeria), Charles Mbemba (DR Congo), Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso)
Nigerian defender Semi Ajayi was the star of the show in their 2-1 win over Tanzania in their group opener, netting the opening goal with a superb header and also helping to shield the backline against the threat posed by the Tanzanians.
Elsewhere, Charles Mbemba was in superb form for the Democratic Republic of Congo, who began their campaign by defeating Benin Republic by a single goal.
The 31-year-old made 11 clearances, three recoveries and won 100% of his aerial duels in a solid defensive shift for his side.
Edmond Tapsoba was also impressive for Burkina Faso, scoring a late winner as his side came from behind to defeat Equatorial Guinea 2-1.
The defender had 93 touches in a dominant performance and also made six passes into the final third, while his late strike capped a superb display.
Midfielders – Alex Iwobi (Nigeria), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Show (Angola), Elias Achouri (Tunisia)
Alex Iwobi provided the assists for both of Nigeria’s goals in the 2-1 win over Tanzania in group C, underlining his creativity and importance to the team.
The Fulham midfielder also created six chances in the clash and was just pipped to the player of the match award by teammate Semi Ajayi.
Amad Diallo, meanwhile, scored the only goal of the clash as defending champions Ivory Coast got their title defence off to a perfect start with victory over Mozambique.
Elsewhere, Elias Achouri scored twice for Tunisia as the North Africans eased to a comfortable 3-1 win over Uganda, ahead of their crucial clash with Nigeria on Saturday.
Angola midfielder Show completes the quartet with a brilliant display despite ending up on the losing side against South Africa.
The 26-year-old scored his side’s only goal in the 2-1 defeat and was also brilliant defensively.
Forwards – Riyad Mahrez (Algeria), Nicolas Jackson (Senegal), Lyle Foster (South Africa)
Algerian captain Riyad Mahrez enjoyed a record-breaking day in office with a brace in the dominant 3-0 win over Sudan in their opening match.
The former Manchester City forward’s opener at one minute and 20 seconds was the fastest goal so far at this tournament, while he has also scored at four different editions of the AFCON tournament.
Elsewhere, Nicolas Jackson’s brace propelled a star-studded Senegalese team to a commanding 3-0 win over Botswana, underlining their favorites tag with a statement performance.
South Africa’s Lyle Foster completes the team by leading Bafana Bafana to victory over Angola, providing the assist for the opener and scoring a second half winner.
Coach: Pape Thiaw (Senegal)
Honorable mentions: Brahim Diaz (Morocco), Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Ademola Lookman (Nigeria), Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon).
