World Cup Winner Tips Morocco, Snubs Nigeria For AFCON Glory

World Cup Winner Tips Morocco, Snubs Nigeria For AFCON Glory

By Admin 

France’s 1998 World Cup winner Emmanuel Petit has ruled out the Super Eagles of Nigeria as contenders for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), choosing instead to back host nation Morocco as his top favourite for the title, BSNSports.com.ng reports.

Speaking ahead of the tournament, which kicks off on December 21 in Morocco, the former Arsenal and Barcelona midfielder shared his predictions, citing the quality of the Moroccan squad and the presence of reigning African Player of the Year Achraf Hakimi as decisive factors.

“Who are my favourites to win the Africa Cup of Nations? I would have to say Morocco because of the players they have, and they are playing at home,” Petit told Snabbare. “In Morocco, we have seen some social troubles in the streets two months ago. The fight was not far away. We know that football can be very powerful in society to calm down the young generation. The African Player of the Year was Achraf Hakimi. The whole competition will be in Morocco. We all know the money and the expectation from the King of Morocco.”

Petit notably did not list Nigeria among his frontrunners, nor did he consider the Super Eagles a dark-horse contender. Instead, he tipped South Africa as the team capable of springing a surprise, pointing to their World Cup qualification campaign, in which they advanced from a group that included African powerhouse Nigeria.