Mansion Sports – Group stage matches of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations always deliver high intensity, especially when two former champions face each other.

This match between Algeria and Sudan is not merely an opening fixture, but also a crucial moment that could determine the direction of both teams’ journeys in Group E.

Two former Africa Cup of Nations champions, Algeria and Sudan, will meet in an important match that has the potential to decide their chances of progressing from Group E.

The match is scheduled to take place at Moulay Hassan Stadium on Wednesday, 23 December 2025 at 16:00 local time.

After being eliminated in the group stage of the 2021 and 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, The Fennecs require a positive start in Morocco as they face an opponent that has not recorded a victory in this competition since 2012.

Before the match begins, let us take a look at Mansion Sports’ recommendations for where to watch Algeria vs Sudan December 2025 so that you do not miss the exciting action.

Team Conditions Ahead of the Match

Algeria

When Algeria ended a 29-year wait to lift the Africa Cup of Nations trophy in 2019, The Desert Warriors never imagined that their victory over Senegal would become their most recent win in the tournament.

A fortunate goal from Baghdad Bounedjah secured the victory in Cairo six years ago, and since then the two-time African champions have failed to win again, facing Sierra Leone, Equatorial Guinea, and Ivory Coast in the 2021 edition, as well as Algeria, Burkina Faso, and Mauritania in the previous finals, collecting only three points from a possible 18.

After recording an unwanted piece of history by being eliminated in the group stage in consecutive Africa Cup of Nations tournaments for the first time, Algeria are seeking to avoid extending their absence from the knockout phase, beginning with Wednesday’s match against Sudan.

The Fennecs are appearing in their 21st Africa Cup of Nations with the advantage of an unbeaten qualification campaign, securing five victories and one draw, and scoring 16 goals, fewer only than Morocco with 26 goals, and level with South Africa.

That goal productivity is no coincidence, as they also scored 24 goals in World Cup qualification, second only to Ivory Coast with 25 goals, with Mohamed El Amine Amoura emerging as Africa’s top scorer during that period.

Considering The Fennecs’ performances in both Africa Cup of Nations and World Cup qualification, another early elimination would be a highly disappointing outcome for the team coached by Vladimir Petkovic.

Riyad Mahrez, now 34 years old, leads Algeria alongside fellow veteran and scorer of the winning goal in 2019, Baghdad Bounedjah, also aged 34, as The Fennecs attempt to end a six-match winless run in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Although Mahrez and Bounedjah have scored 33 and 35 goals respectively for the national team, the emergence of Amoura means that neither player is required to carry the entire scoring burden alone for the two-time African champions.

Amoura scored 10 goals in World Cup qualification, surpassing legendary Egyptian forward Mohamed Salah who scored nine, and contributing 41.7 percent of the team’s total goals.

This squad is also strengthened by Borussia Dortmund full-back Ramy Bensebaini, former AC Milan midfielder Ismael Bennacer who now plays for Dinamo Zagreb, and former Nice defender Youcef Atal, who have collectively recorded 186 international appearances, although Manchester City’s Rayan Ait-Nouri could start at left-back in place of Bensebaini.

Luca Zidane, the son of legendary Zinedine Zidane, is expected to be the first-choice goalkeeper, ahead of Caen goalkeeper Anthony Mandrea who has earned 20 caps.

Sudan

Seeking to avoid early failure, Sudan face the highly motivated champions of the 1970 edition as they return to the tournament amid ongoing war conditions in their homeland.

The national team from the conflict-affected country were forced to play their home qualification matches outside Sudan, further emphasizing the scale of the challenges they had to overcome to reach Morocco.

Under the guidance of Ghanaian coach James Kwesi Appiah, the Falcons of Jediane twice avoided defeat against the Black Stars, drawing goalless in Accra before securing a 2-0 victory in the return leg held in Libya.

With two wins, two draws, and two defeats, Sudan secured qualification for the finals by finishing one point ahead of Niger, while Ghana ended without a single victory after recording three draws and three losses.

Returning to the Africa Cup of Nations after missing the Ivory Coast edition, Appiah’s side are determined to avoid a similar fate to the 2021 tournament, when they failed to record a win from three matches and lost to Nigeria and Egypt in a very demanding group.

Without a victory since their shock 2-1 win over Burkina Faso at the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations, Sudan enter Wednesday’s match with a run of four consecutive winless games in the competition, while hoping to deliver a major surprise against their opponents.

Sudan’s squad is largely composed of players competing in the domestic league, although captain Bakhit Khamis, Munjed Alnil, Muhamed Kesra, Sheddy Barglan, Abuaagla Abdalla, Ammar Taifour, Mohamed Eisa, Abo Eisa, Al-Jezoli, John Mano, and Aamir Abdallah play for clubs outside Sudan.

Among those names, Barglan, Eisa’s brother, and Abdallah play outside Africa, with careers respectively in the Netherlands, Thailand, and Australia.

Sudan had four different goal scorers in qualification, namely Mohamed Abdelrahman, Ahmed Al-Tash, Eisa, and Mustafa Karshoum, demonstrating that the team do not rely on a single player to score goals.

Nevertheless, Abdelrahman remains the leading international goal scorer within this 28-man squad, with a total of 23 goals, far ahead of Yaser Muzmel who has scored eight.

Where to Watch Algeria vs Sudan December 2025

For those who wish to watch this match live and are searching for where to watch Algeria vs Sudan December 2025, depending on your place of residence, this exciting fixture can be viewed through platforms such as:

• beIN Sports
• Fubo
• Channel 4
• Super Sport

With historical context, significant pressure, and a strong desire to recover, the duel between Algeria and Sudan is certain to be fiercely contested from the opening minute.

Make sure you are aware of the schedule and where to watch Algeria vs Sudan December 2025 so that you do not miss one of the key matches in the group stage of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.