French national team head coach Didier Deschamps believes Egypt are one of the favourites to win the 2025 AFCON.
Egypt, led by Hossam Hassan, have had an inspiring start to the tournament thus far. The Pharaohs secured qualification for the round of 16 after topping Group B with seven points.
Wins over Zimbabwe and South Africa followed by a draw with Angola were enough for Egypt to make it through to the next round.
They are set to come up against Benin in their first game of the knockout stages. A potential win could see the seven-time AFCON champions meet the victor between Burkina Faso and reigning champions, Ivory Coast, in the quarter-finals later on.
In a recent interview, Didier Deschamps was asked to comment on the competition and its potential winner.
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The 2018 World Cup winner proceeded to list Egypt among the candidates due to their quality and experience in the tournament.
"I follow the Africa Cup of Nations because we have a competitor in the upcoming 2026 World Cup group stage, which is Senegal," Deschamps told Al-Sharq TV at the Global Sports Summit in Dubai.
"Morocco, Egypt, and Cameroon all have what it takes to win. Quality and experience—they have it in abundance. I'm not going to choose just one, they all deserve their laurels.
"Although it's the year-end holiday period, when you are passionate about football, which is also my job, I follow it, perhaps not all matches completely, but a good number of them.
Despite picking his favourites, Deschamps still believes that one of his picks could fail to meet his expectations.
"As is always the case, even in the World Cup, we always talk about the same teams, but surprises sometimes happen," he continued.
"The best African teams are competing, and they have outstanding players who play in the best clubs."
Fans in Egypt are hopeful that their team can recapture the AFCON title for the first time since 2010 under former head coach Hassan Shehata.
After failing to deliver in the previous iterations, there is growing hope among fans nationwide that Egypt can claim a record eighth AFCON title.
