Morocco and Egypt will be without their captains during the last two rounds of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers.

The Atlas Lions of Morocco will lock horns with Gabon on November 15 before meeting Lesotho three days later, with Galatasaray playmaker Hakim Ziyech having been omitted from the squad as the captain continues his recovery from injury, with coach Walid Regragui deeming him not yet ready for international duty.

Egypt, on the other hand, will be without their captain Mohamed Salah who has been excluded by coach Hossam Hassan in order to rest the Liverpool FC winger with Pharaohs set to take on Cape Verde away on November 15 before hosting Botswana on November 19.

Both the Atlas Lions and Pharaohs have qualified for the AFCON finals which will be hosted by Morocco between 21 December 2025 and 18 January 2026.

Morocco’s squad:

Goalkeepers: Yassine Bounou, Munir Mohamedi, Salaheddine Chihab, Ayoub El Khayati

Defenders: Achraf Hakimi (captain), Noussair Mazraoui, Nayef Aguerd, Abdelkabir Abqar, Jamal Harkass, Adam Masina, Adam Aznou, Yahya Attiat Allah

Midfielders: Bilal El Khannouss, Amir Richardson, Ismael Saibari, Sofyan Amrabat, Oussama Targhalline, Eliesse ben Seghir, Azzedine Ounahi

Forwards: Ilias Akhomach, Brahim Diaz, Soufiane Rahimi, Ayoub El Kaabi, Youssef En-Nesyri, Osame Sahraoui, Abde Ezzalzouli

Egypt’s squad:

Goalkeepers: Mohamed El Shenawy, Mostafa Shobier, El Mahdy Soliman, and Mohamed Awad

Defenders: Ahmed Ramada, Hossam Abdelmaguid, Mohamed Rabia, Mohamed Hamdy, Ahmed Eid and Omar Kamal

Midfielders: Hamdi Fathi, Ahmed Nabil Kouka, Marwan Ateya, Mohamed Shehata, Nabil Emad, Nasser Maher, Mahmoud Saber.

Forwards: Mahmoud Hassan Trezeguet, Mostafa Fathi, Ibrahim Adel, Mahmoud Abdel Hafiz Zalaka, Taher Mohamed Taher, Omar Marmoush, Mostafa Mohamed, Osama Faisal.

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com