In exclusive statements to the “winwin” website, Younes Belhanda, the star of the Qatari club Al-Shamal, spoke about the chances of his country’s national team, Morocco, to win the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, which it will host on its land and among its fans.
Last June, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced the official date for hosting the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco, setting it between December 21, 2025 and January 18, 2026.
The national team seeksBlack AtlasTo win the African Cup of Nations title, which has been absent from its coffers for a long time, specifically since the 1976 edition, after it succeeded on the global level in reaching the semi-finals of the Qatar 2022 World Cup, and occupying fourth place in that edition after losing the third-place match against Croatia.
Belhanda talks about Morocco’s chances of winning the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations
Belhanda expected that the Moroccan national team would face difficulty in winning the CAN title, and said in his statements to the “winwin” website: “As you know, the African Cup of Nations is a difficult tournament, and it is not like playing in Europe or the World Cup. The African Cup is much more difficult and the participating teams are very strong.”
He continued, saying: “The level is high in the African Cup and the pace is high, and every year it becomes more complicated. I participated in the tournament 3 times, and every time it was very complicated. God knows, and God willing, it will be good for the Moroccan national team.”
Belhanda evaluates Morocco’s participation in the 2024 Paris Olympics
In the same statements, Belhanda, the playmaker of the North, evaluated the participation of the Moroccan Olympic team in the Paris 2024 Olympics, saying: “The Moroccan Olympic team performed very well in the Olympics, then they collided and were eliminated by the Spanish team, which was also strong, but the participation was good and good, they honored the Moroccans.”
And wish Belhanda The Atlas Lions Olympic team won the bronze medal in their classification match against their Egyptian counterparts, as he said: “There is another medal to be won, and I hope, God willing, that they win the bronze medal.”
Belhanda (34 years old) has been playing with Al-Shamal Club since January 2024 after joining it from the Turkish club Adana Demirspor, and he has a contract with the Qatari team that extends until December 2025.
Belhanda played 59 international matches with the Moroccan national team, between official and friendly matches, during which he managed to score 5 goals. It is worth noting that the last time he was called up to represent the “Atlas Lions” national team was in the September 2022 camp.
