“A very big tournament”: FCA trio get AFCON campaigns underway
Saad, Gharbi and Essende setting ambitious goals
First Team
23.12.2025, 11:00
24 nations are competing for their continental title at the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations in Morocco. Three FC Augsburg stars will begin their campaigns on Tuesday. Elias Saad and Ismaël Gharbi have both been called up by Tunisia, while Samuel Essende is part of the DR Congo squad.
This will be a special competition for Elias Saad. “Being here means a lot to me. This is a very big tournament for my country and I think we’ve got a good chance of going a long way,” said the 25-year-old attacker. “My personal aims are to be at peak fitness and to help my country by putting in good performances.” Ismaël Gharbi has also been included in the Tunisia squad, having recently featured for his nation at the FIFA Arab Cup.
Samuel Essende is looking forward to making his first appearance at the tournament for DR Congo. The 27-year-old emphasised the competition’s significance: “This tournament means a huge amount to our fans, our nation and the continent as a whole. I’m very proud to be a part of this team and of this competition.” He is also looking to make a big contribution himself : “I’m a striker and I expect a lot from myself, including scoring goals and providing assists. We want to win matches, ideally all of them.”
The FCA players’ national sides will face the following opponents in the group stage:
- Tunisia are in Group C and will take on Uganda (Thursday, 23rd December, 21:00 CET). Nigeria (Saturday, 27th December, 21:00 CET) and Tanzania (Tuesday, 30th December, 17:00 CET).
- DR Congo are in Group D and will meet Benin (Tuesday, 23rd December, 13:30 CET), Senegal (Saturday, 27th December, 16:00 CET) and Botswana (Tuesday, 30th December, 20:00 CET).
The first edition of the Africa Cup of Nations took place in 1957, and the most successful side are Egypt with seven titles.
