Has Senegal's dominance of African football ended?

After Ivory Coast's surprise victory in the 2024 Africa Cup of Nations on home soil, has Morocco begun its era of dominance on the continent?

After winning the 2025 Arab Cup, the 2025 FIFA U-20 World Cup in Chile, and the African Nations Championship? Egypt's men qualified for the Round of 16 and avenged their defeat against South Africa. El Shenawy, the man of the match, made a series of crucial saves, while Salah's intelligence and skill led to Egypt's goal from a well-deserved penalty. Mohamed Hany's sending off proved a turning point in the match, favoring South Africa. This was a revenge match, as South Africa had eliminated Egypt in Cairo in the Round of 16 in 2019. Egypt is the most decorated team with seven titles, including three consecutive wins, the last in 2010, under the guidance of the brilliant coach Hassan Shehata (may God grant him health and well-being). Cameroon follows with five titles, then Ghana with four, Nigeria and Ivory Coast with three each, and Algeria with two. And the Democratic Republic of Congo. And only once each for Sudan, Ethiopia, Zambia, Tunisia, South Africa, Congo, and Morocco, also in Ethiopia in 1976, meaning half a century ago. Will the Moroccans continue their brilliance in the Africa Cup of Nations in front of their home crowd, as they did in the 2022 Qatar World Cup, reaching the semi-finals for the first time in the history of the World Cup since its inception in 1930 in Uruguay? Or will the Pharaohs regain their luster under the leadership of Hossam Hassan, who won it as a player in 2006 and dreams of winning it again as a coach? Or will there be surprises and a new winner of the most important title on the African continent? This tournament is a true test for the Hassan twins, Hossam and Ibrahim (and their easy qualification for the World Cup), six months before the start of the 2026 World Cup finals in the USA (commemorating the 250th anniversary of its independence from England), where they will play in our group against Belgium, Iran, and New Zealand. And what if they fail to win it, or even reach the final? The Moroccan national team could potentially hire Frenchman Hervé Renard (the former Saudi Arabia coach, dismissed after their loss to Jordan in the Arab Cup) as part of the top four.

He is an experienced coach with a proven track record in Africa, having won the Africa Cup of Nations with both Zambia and Ivory Coast. Alternatively, they could hire Frenchman Laurent Blanc, a World Cup winner. Egyptian star Mohamed Salah needs to win the only trophy that has eluded him throughout his career with the national team since 2012, a feat that has prevented him from winning the Ballon d'Or despite being nominated several times. He also needs to win the Champions League with Liverpool in 2019 under Jürgen Klopp before the arrival of Dutchman Arne Slot, whose relationship with the club has been strained due to the team's poor results in the Premier League.