AFCON 2025: Who are the top players to watch in Morocco?
The CAF Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) gets under way on Sunday, with the host nation Morocco facing Comoros in Group A at Rabat’s Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium. Across the four weeklong continental showpiece, some of the game’s biggest names will take centre stage. Here’s a look at our top-10 players who are set to light up the competition: ⚽ Mohamed Salah (Egypt) Arguably the biggest African football star of his generation, Mohamed Salah heads into the tournament hoping to lead Egypt to a record-extending eighth title. But the 33-year-old arrives short of his usual standards: he has scored just five goals in 20 matches across all competitions this season and has slipped down the pecking order under Liverpool’s new manager, Arne Slot. Yet Salah’s importance to Egypt has never been in doubt. The two-time African Footballer of the Year remains their talisman, and his nine goals in the CAF World Cup qualifying phase were crucial in securing a spot at next summer’s World Cup. At AFCON, Salah will be chasing both redemption and a return to the red-hot form that earned him the nickname “the Egyptian King”. Mohamed Salah, who has struggled for form at Liverpool, has raised doubts over whether he will play for the club again after AFCON [File: Amr Nabil/AP] ⚽ Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) Fresh off the high of being crowned African footballer of the year, Achraf Hakimi headlines the cast of star home nation players set to take the field in Morocco. The 27-year-old, widely regarded as one of the best right-backs in the world, was instrumental in PSG’s treble-winning campaign, capped off by their long-awaited UEFA Champions League triumph in May. Advertisement As Morocco’s captain, Hakimi carries the hopes of millions in the football-mad country. Morocco’s Atlas Lions will look to him not only for his defensive stability but also for his playmaking spark as they chase only the second AFCON title in their history – 50 years after their maiden crown. There had been concerns over Achraf Hakimi’s availability for AFCON due to an ankle injury, but Morocco’s head coach, Walid Regragui, is optimistic the full-back will recover in time to play [File: Aurelien Morissard/AP] ⚽ Victor Osimhen (Nigeria) Still recovering from the heartbreak of missing out on the 2026 World Cup, Victor Osimhen will look for solace and vindication at the continental championship. The Galatasaray forward, known for his trademark face mask, has been in prolific form this season with 12 goals in 16 matches across all competitions, including six in the Champions League. Despite sitting second on Nigeria’s all-time scorers list, Osimhen has struggled to translate that dominance to major tournaments: he has found the net only once, at the previous AFCON in 2023 when the Super Eagles reached the final. This edition offers him a chance to change that narrative. Victor Osimhen, pictured, and his Nigeria teammates are hurting after another unsuccessful World Cup qualifying campaign with the quickest route to redemption being an AFCON title [File: Luc Gnago/Reuters] ⚽ Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon) Rediscovering his scoring touch, star forward Bryan Mbeumo could play a crucial role in Cameroon’s campaign as they begin a new chapter under a new coach following their failure to qualify for the World Cup. With seven goals across all competitions, Mbeumo has been Manchester United’s standout performer in an otherwise mixed and chaotic season for the Red Devils. An injury kept Mbeumo out of the previous AFCON, but this time, the 26-year-old has a golden opportunity to clinch his first trophy with Cameroon. The task, however, will not be straightforward. With veteran striker Vincent Aboubakar surprisingly left out of the squad, Mbeumo inherits the dual responsibility of leading the line and captaining the team. Cameroon forward Bryan Mbeumo has been Manchester United’s highest scorer this season [File: Gregory Bull/AP] ⚽ Wilfried Zaha (Ivory Coast) An impressive loan spell with Charlotte in Major League Soccer (MLS) has earned Wilfried Zaha a surprise recall to the national team for the first time in two years. The 33-year-old winger was omitted from the squad that won AFCON 2023, but his return to form, marked by 10 goals and 10 assists this season, proved too compelling to ignore. Advertisement Zaha’s years of experience, ability to take on defenders and current sharpness should provide a timely boost to the reigning champions’ aspirations of defending their AFCON title in Morocco. Wilfried Zaha won two caps for England before switching international allegiance to the Ivory Coast [File: Nell Redmond/AP] ⚽ Sadio Mane (Senegal) Sadio Mane once dominated headlines with his exploits in Europe for clubs such as Liverpool and Bayern Munich, but his move to Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League has shifted much of the media spotlight away from him. Yet the 33-year-old, widely regarded as one of Africa’s greatest players, remains a decisive figure for Senegal: his five goals in CAF World Cup qualifying were the most by any Senegalese player. In Morocco, Mane will aim to replicate the form that earned him player of the tournament honours at AFCON 2021 when the winger guided the Teranga Lions to their first continental title. Senegal’s Sadio Mane has 12 goal involvements in 17 matches for Al Nassr this season [File: Kenzo Tribouillard/AFP] ⚽ Iliman Ndiaye (Senegal) With six goal involvements in the Premier League, Iliman Ndiaye has been one of Everton’s most reliable players in the Premier League this season, and the 25-year-old will hope to bring that positive influence to Senegal’s attack. The midfielder, known for his dribbling and finishing, has enjoyed a rapid ascent in recent years, moving from England’s second-tier league in 2023 to being a key contributor for the Toffees as they close in on a top-six spot in the top-flight. On the international stage, Ndiaye has been an integral part of Senegal’s setup for the past three years, and he will look to make his mark at his third AFCON appearance. Iliman Ndiaye is a key part of Everton’s attack and will hope to carry
Winter storms cause war-damaged buildings to collapse in Gaza
NewsFeed Heavy rain and strong winds are causing buildings weakened by Israeli bombardment to collapse across Gaza. At least 17 buildings have fallen since the beginning of December, as hundreds of thousands Palestinians shelter in unsafe buildings or makeshift tents. Published On 17 Dec 202517 Dec 2025 Click here to share on social media share2 Share Adblock test (Why?)
Faced with Trump’s deportation push, US teachers fear leaving the classroom
Washington, DC – For the past two years, weekdays for Susanna have meant thumbing through picture books, organising cubby holes and leading classroom choruses of songs. But her work as a pre-school teacher came to a screeching halt in October, when she found out her application to renew her work permit had been denied. Recommended Stories list of 3 itemsend of list Susanna, who uses a pseudonym in this article for fear of reprisals, is one of the nearly 10 percent of teachers in the United States who are immigrants. But while the US has increasingly looked abroad to fill teacher shortages, some foreign-born teachers say the deportation push under President Donald Trump has threatened their livelihoods — and risks traumatising their students. Susanna, an asylum applicant who fled violence in Guatemala nearly a decade ago, said that losing her permit meant she had to stop working immediately. She recalls breaking the news to her students, some of whom are only three years old. Many were too young to understand. “In one week, I lost everything,” Susanna told Al Jazeera in Spanish. “When I told the kids goodbye, they asked me why, and I told them, ‘I can only tell you goodbye.’ There were kids that hugged me, and it hurt my heart a lot.” Advocates warn that the sudden departure of teachers could harm the development of young children in school [Mohammed Zain Shafi Khan/Al Jazeera] Looking abroad for teachers Estimates vary as to how many foreign-born teachers currently work in the US. But one 2019 report from George Mason University found that there were 857,200 immigrants among the country’s 8.1 million teachers, in roles ranging from pre-school to university. Advertisement For the 2023-2024 school year alone, the US government brought 6,716 full-time teachers to the country on temporary exchange visas to fill openings in pre-kindergarten, primary and secondary school education. Many hailed from the Philippines, as well as countries like Jamaica, Spain and Colombia. The uncertainty for immigrants under Trump’s second term, however, has proven disruptive to schools that rely heavily on foreign-born teachers. That is the case for the pre-school where Susanna worked, CommuniKids, which offers language immersion programmes in Washington, DC. Cofounder and president Raul Echevarría estimates that immigrants — both citizens and non-citizens working with legal authorisation — comprise about 90 percent of CommuniKids’s staff. But Echevarría told Al Jazeera that the push to rescind legal pathways to immigration has jeopardised the employment of several faculty members. Five other teachers at the school have seen their ability to work affected by changes to the Temporary Protected Status (TPS) programme. All five, Echevarría explained, were originally from Venezuela. But in October, the Trump administration ended TPS status for more than 350,000 Venezuelan citizens, including the teachers at CommuniKids. Their authorisation to work legally in the US will expire on October 2, 2026, according to the US Citizenship and Immigration Services website. “These teachers lost their ability to make a living,” Echevarria said, noting that his school requires educators with expertise in languages like Spanish, French and Mandarin. CommuniKids, a language immersion school in Washington, DC, helps young children develop skills in French, Mandarin and Spanish [Mohammed Zain Shafi Khan/Al Jazeera] ‘Strong bonds’ For the schools themselves, the losses can be devastating. Every state in the US has reported teacher shortages to the federal government. But advocates say the high stress and low pay of education make teachers difficult to recruit and keep. That leads some states to look abroad for education workers. In North Carolina, for example, 1,063 foreign nationals worked full-time as grade-school teachers on temporary J-1 visas during the 2023-2024 school year. The top destinations for such recruits were all southern states: North Carolina was followed by Florida with 996 teachers on J-1 visas, and Texas with 761. But Echevarria said some of the biggest impacts of the deportation drive are felt by the students themselves. “Our students develop strong bonds with their teachers, and all of a sudden, overnight, they lost their teachers,” said Echevarría. Advertisement “Their number one superpower”, he added, “is their ability to empathise and to create strong, effective bonds with people from any background”. But when those bonds are broken, there can be mental health consequences and setbacks for educational achievement, particularly among younger children. A 2024 study published by the American Educational Research Association found that, when teachers leave midyear, children’s language development takes a measurable hit. In other words, the loss of a familiar teacher — someone who knows their routines, strengths and fears — can quietly stall a child’s progress. The consequences extend to a child’s sense of self and stability. Mental health consequences For parents like Michelle Howell, whose child attends CommuniKids, the loss of teachers has also made the classroom environment feel fragile. “The teachers there aren’t just teachers for these young kids,” Howell said of CommuniKids. “They’re like extended family. “They hug them, they hold them, they do the things a parent would do. When those people disappear, it’s not just hard for the kids. It’s hard for everyone.” Howell, who is Chinese American, said the sudden disappearances reminded her of her own family’s history. “I used to read about things like this happening in China, the place my family left to find safety,” she said. “It’s very disturbing to know that what we ran from back then is our reality now. People disappear.” School psychologist Maria C, who asked to remain anonymous to protect her work in the Texas public school system, has noticed the children she works with struggling with instability caused by the deportation push. The disappearance of a loved one or mentor — say, a favourite teacher — could flood a child’s body with cortisol, the hormone meant to protect them in moments of danger, she explained. But when that stress becomes chronic, the same hormone starts to hurt more than it helps. It interferes with memory, attention and emotional regulation. “For some, it looks like anxiety. For others,
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