Senegal’s march through the Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2025 continues on 3 January when the Group D winners face Sudan in the Round of 16 at the Grand Stade de Tangier.
Kick-off is at 5 pm, with Senegal arriving unbeaten and full of confidence after topping their group, while Sudan progressed as one of the best third-placed teams from Group E.
Despite their long history of encounters, this will be the first time the two nations meet at the Africa Cup of Nations finals. Senegal are yet to lose any of their seven previous meetings with Sudan, recording four wins and three draws, and they have conceded just once in that run.
The rivalry has intensified over the past year, with four of those seven meetings coming in 2025 alone. Senegal edged Sudan on penalties in the third-place play-off at the 2024 CHAN after a 1–1 draw, while a group-stage meeting at the same tournament ended goalless.
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The sides were also paired in the 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers. A 0–0 draw in Sudan in March 2025 was followed by a commanding 2–0 Senegal win in September, with goals from Kalidou Koulibaly and Pape Matar Sarr, a result that helped the Teranga Lions qualify for the World Cup as group winners, ahead of Sudan.
History, too, favours the West Africans. Senegal won both meetings against Sudan in the 2019 AFCON qualifiers and have never lost to East African opposition at the tournament, winning four and drawing one of their five such encounters.
Across six AFCON matches against East African teams, Senegal have scored 15 goals, conceded just once, and kept five clean sheets. Their only previous knockout tie against an East African side ended in a 1–0 victory over Uganda in the 2019 Round of 16.
For Sudan, the task is daunting. This will be their 11th AFCON match against West African opposition, with just three wins from the previous 10. They have also lost their last two AFCON games against teams from the region, including a defeat to Burkina Faso earlier in the tournament.
As the knockout stages begin, Senegal will be keen to turn statistical superiority into another decisive step while Sudan look to defy history and keep their AFCON dream alive.
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