Africa Cup of Nations Outright Betting Tips
AFCON Outright Predictions: Lions of Teranga to roar to victory in Morocco
Despite scraping through the group stage and sacking their manager mid-tournament, hosts Ivory Coast won the last Africa Cup of Nations in 2024.
They are certainly not sure things to retain their crown, though, and this year’s hosts, Morocco, are the favourites to prevail at AFCON, which gets underway when the Atlas Lions take on Comoros on Sunday.
However, they look a touch short given they crashed out in the round of 16 at AFCON 2023 and may be without star man Achraf Hakimi for a large part of the tournament, with a recent winner catching the eye instead.
Our AFCON Betting Tips
- Senegal to win AFCON @ 6/1
- Mohamed Amoura to be top goalscorer (each-way) @ 20/1
- Nicolas Jackson to be top goalscorer (each-way) @ 16/1
Betting Tip 1: Senegal to win AFCON @ 6/1
Defending champions at AFCON 2023, Senegal, disappointed massively when crashing out in the round of 16. However, they bounced back in spectacular fashion by enjoying an unbeaten World Cup qualifying campaign and might very well build upon that in Morocco.
That qualifying campaign saw them win seven of their 10 games, scoring 22 and conceding just three goals in the process, and that underlines the immense depth and talent at Pape Thiaw’s disposal.
A strong defence often results in AFCON success, so having a top shot-stopper in Edouard Mendy, powerful defenders Kalidou Koulibaly and Moussa Niakhate and an elite ball-winner in Idrissa Gueye gives them a great platform to build on - which is great news for their plethora of attacking threats.
Sadio Mane is still a danger, but, amazingly, he is probably Senegal’s fourth-best attacker these days, highlighting their firepower. Iliman Ndiaye has enjoyed another excellent season for Everton, Ismaila Sarr has been one of Crystal Palace’s best players during their most successful season and Nicolas Jackson continues to bang in goals for Bayern Munich.
With added goals coming from excellent midfielders Pape Matar Sarr and Lamine Camara, the Lions of Teranga have the deepest and most potent attacking unit at the tournament and that should carry them a very long way this winter.
Betting Tip 2: Mohamed Amoura to be top goalscorer @ 20/1
Mohamed Salah, despite his ongoing struggles at Liverpool, and Victor Osimhen head the top-goalscorer market, but Egypt lack creators, and Nigeria are prone to flopping, so both can be readily swerved.
There are plenty of big names towards the top of the betting, but it could be argued that none should be a shorter price than Algeria's Mohamed Amoura, who topped the scoring charts in the African section of the 2026 World Cup qualifying with 10 goals, one more than Salah.
Amoura has scored five goals in his last seven games for club and country, netted six in 14 Bundesliga matches for Wolfsburg this term and a stunning 19 in 38 for Algeria, making 20/1 look a huge price.
Betting Tip 3: Nicolas Jackson to be top goalscorer (each-way) @ 16/1
With Senegal predicted to go far, it makes sense to back one of their many stars to top the scoring charts.
Mane, Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr all make appeal, but it is Jackson who looks the pick of the bunch.
For club and country, Jackson has averaged a goal every 96 minutes since the start of September and should have plenty of chances created for him by Mane, Sarr, Ndiaye and the excellent crossing of West Ham left-back El Hadji Malick Diouf.
The Senegalese forward can often be a frustrating figure and is known for spurning chances, but the key thing is that he gets those chances. His movement is excellent and, as he is a confidence-fuelled player, once one goal goes in, there is a good chance a few more will quickly follow.
