For the final time in 2025, a football match will be played today. The last major match of the calendar year will occur in Marrakesh, Morocco, when the Africa Cup of Nations concludes its group stage with Group F action. Both Gabon vs. Ivory Coast and Mozambique vs. Cameroon will kick off at 2 p.m. ET (8 p.m. local), with each match carrying heavy seeding implications for the Round of 16.
The Elephants currently have the upper hand to win the group, but they’ll need to win this afternoon’s match by more goals (or score more goals) than the Indomitable Lions win theirs, or else lots will be drawn to determine whether the Ivory Coast or Cameroon ultimately emerges as the group winner. The Elephants would also need to win to stop Mozambique from winning the group if they defeat the Indomitable Lions.
For all three non-eliminated teams, winning the group is critical, as it would be the difference between facing the Group E runner-up (either Burkina Faso or Sudan) and facing World Cup-bound South Africa.
Ivory Coast is a -215 favorite to win at DraftKings Sportsbook, and Gabon is +700. The teams are +310 to draw.
Gabon vs. Ivory Coast prediction, pick
The Elephants will surely be motivated to win the group as they prepare for next summer’s World Cup, where they’ve drawn a difficult slate of opponents in Germany, Ecuador, and Curaçao. Scoring just one goal in each match isn’t exactly ideal for a team preparing for a group with such strong defenses, and it’d be a disappointment if they didn’t top this AFCON group, given that they’re the group’s top-ranked team (No. 42 in the latest FIFA World Cup). Still, Ivory Coast hasn’t disappointed close to as much as Gabon has: the Panthers are actually ranked above Mozambique and have one of the continent’s best strike partnerships in LAFC’s Denis Bouanga and Marseille’s Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
Manchester United fans have to be happy about the way the tournament has unfolded, as young wingback Amad Diallo has smashed home both of the Elephants’ goals after also netting in his most recent Premier League appearance against Bournemouth, including a tremendous chip against Cameroon that went viral on social media. It’s not just Amad, though: six of Ivory Coast’s 11 starters against the Indomitable Lions play in one of Europe’s top-five leagues, and two others (Franck Kessié and Wilfried Zaha) have plenty of experience against top-level competition. All in all, it out-shot Mozambique 15-5 and generated seven corners to Cameroon’s three, but it couldn’t take advantage in either match, as Amad, Bakoun Vayo, Kessié, and Zaha have combined to put just six of their 22 shots on target. Still, the Elephants’ rock-solid defense has kept them in both matches, as Yahia Fofana has saved four of his five opportunities following an unbelievable World Cup qualifying campaign in which Ivory Coast did not concede a single goal.
If Gabon could defend, it might be fighting for a qualification spot still, but the Panthers have dropped both games in heartbreaking fashion after conceding an early goal to Cameroon and three to the Mambas. They arguably should’ve beaten Mozambique, as Mambas goalie Emani came up with eight saves from 10 opportunities, but to even give up five shots on target is a disappointment and could be a problem against attackers with as much raw talent as Amad and Zaha. Their defense failed them during the World Cup qualifying campaign too, as they allowed four goals to Nigeria during the continental playoffs. Gabon also hasn’t been as sharp in the attack as it arguably should be: while Aubameyang has put two of his four shots on target and found the back of the net once and Mario Lemina has found the target with three of his five shots, Bouanga has put just one of his four on target, and that attempt was saved. Bouanga, who’s been one of the American top flight’s top two goal scorers in each of the past two seasons, has to be more clinical, especially against a defense as solid as the Elephants’.
The teams are familiar with each other after being placed in the same CAF World Cup qualifying group, and while the Panthers managed one draw and one defeat in that competition, the Ivory Coast arguably didn’t have its best squad for either match, as neither featured Amad. Now that he’s fully healthy and in top form, the Elephants’ advantage over Gabon has only grown. Ivory Coast conceded a goal against an African opponent (scored by that opponent) since 2024, and unless Bouanga returns to form, that streak should extend into 2026.
