Morocco will be looking to maintain their 100% record in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers when they visit the Stade de Franceville to take on Gabon on Friday.

Match preview

Gabon took another huge step towards securing a return to the Africa Cup of Nations as they picked up a hard-fought 2-0 victory over Lesotho when the two nations squared off at the Moses Mabhida Stadium.

Following a goalless first half, Toulouse forward Shavy Warren Babicka broke the deadlock 10 minutes into the second half to set the visitors on their way before Rody Junior Effaghe doubled the lead with an 84th-minute strike.

Having suffered a 4-1 loss against Morocco in September's group opener, Gabon have now picked up two wins from their subsequent three outings, with a goalless draw against Lesotho in the first of their October double-header sandwiched between the two victories.

Thierry Mouyouma's men missed out on a place in the 2024 AFCON following a third-placed finish in Group I last year, but they currently sit second in Group B with seven points from a possible 12, four points above third-placed Central African Republic.

Gabon will fancy themselves to continue from where they left off in October as they take on an opposing side against whom they are unbeaten in eight of their last 10 meetings, claiming four wins and four draws since March 2009.

On the other hand, Morocco made it two straight wins against Central African Republic in October's qualifying double-header as they thrashed the Wild Beasts 4-0 at the Honneur Stadium.

Having stormed to a 5-0 victory when they met just three days earlier, a brace from Monaco forward Eliesse Ben Seghir and second-half strikes from Youssef En-Nesyri and Abdessamad Ezzalzouli saw the Atlas Lions secure all three points in Oujda.

While Morocco are guaranteed a spot in the 2025 AFCON as host nation, they have won each of their four qualifying matches so far, scoring a staggering 14 goals and conceding just once to sit five points clear in Group B.

Walid Regragui's men, who are Africa's highest-placed national team in the latest FIFA World Rankings (13), head into Friday's clash unbeaten in eight straight games across all competitions, claiming one draw and six wins, including victories over Zambia and Congo in the 2026 World Cup qualifiers back in June.

Gabon possible starting lineup:

Mbaba; Mboula, Moucketou, Appidangoye, Oyono; Kanga, Lemina, Ngouali; Sambissa, Bouanga, Aubameyang

Morocco possible starting lineup:

Bounou; Hakimi, Aguerd, Harkass, Mazraoui; Amarabt, Ounahi, Seghir; Ezzalzouli, En-Nesyri, Rahimi