Morocco Edition Sees Record Arab Presence in AFCON Round of 16 with Five Teams

The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations finals, currently being held in Morocco, are witnessing an unprecedented Arab presence in the Round of 16. Five Arab national teams have successfully reached the knockout stage, marking a new record since this stage was adopted in the tournament.

The Round of 16 is a relatively recent addition to the Africa Cup of Nations, having been introduced for the first time in the 2019 edition after the number of participating teams was increased from 16 to 24. Under the tournament's format, teams were divided into six groups of four. The top two teams from each group, along with the four best third-placed teams, qualified to complete the 16 teams for the knockout stage.

The Egyptian national team was the first Arab side to secure its qualification, soon followed by Algeria, Morocco, Sudan, and Tunisia. This brought the total number of qualified Arab teams to five, while the Comoros national team failed to advance to the same stage.