AFCON 2025: History of the four African coaches in semifinals

The current edition of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) has witnessed a historic event concerning African coaches, as four coaches from the continent have successfully led their national teams to the semifinals.

Africa Top Sports parades the four coaches below;

Eric Chelle (Nigeria): Born 11 November 1977, Chelle is a football manager and former player, who played for the Malian national team, and currently serves as head coach of the Nigeria national team. He mainly played as a centre-back. Chelle was born in Ivory Coast to a French father and a Malian mother, he made five appearances for the Mali national team. In May 2021, Chelle was appointed head coach of US Boulogne. He was dismissed by Boulogne on 11 December 2021, after the club gained three points in preceding ten games.

In 2022, Chelle was appointed manager of Mali. Under his guidance at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, Mali topped their group ahead of eventual semifinalists South Africa and reached the quarter finals against hosts Ivory Coast, where they were eliminated in the very last minute of extra time. He was dismissed on 13 June 2024. On 9 October 2024, Éric Chelle became the coach of MC Oran in the Algerian Ligue 1 Pro. On 7 January 2025, Chelle was announced by the Nigeria Football Federation as the head coach of the Super Eagles.

Hossam Hassan (Egypt): A prolific goal scorer, Hassan is Egypt’s all-time top scorer with 69 goals in 177 appearances. His twin brother Ibrahim also played professional football, and they shared teams for most of their extensive careers.

Hassan represented the national team in the 1990 FIFA World Cup and seven Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He is regarded as one of the best players in African football history and is the 15th most capped player in men’s international football. A prolific scorer, he is the 2nd in the list of the Egyptian Premier League’s all-time top scorers. Hassan is considered one of his country’s best players of all time.

He appeared for Egypt at the 1990 FIFA World Cup, helping the Pharaohs achieve two draws while narrowly going down 0–1 to England. Ibrahim was also an undisputed starter. Aged 40, Hassan was captain of the national team at the 2006 African Cup of Nations, and played three times and netted once for the hosts, winning the last of his three continental competitions.

Walid Regragui (Morocco): As a player, he played as a right-back for the Morocco national team. As a coach, he made history at the international level when he led Morocco to the semi-finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup, becoming the first national team from Africa and the Arab world to reach this stage. He then qualified Morocco for the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Born in Corbeil-Essonnes, Essonne, France, Regragui was a full international for Morocco. Clubs he played for include Toulouse, AC Ajaccio, Grenoble and Racing Santander. In the summer of 2009, he moved from Grenoble to Moroccan club Moghreb Tétouan. On 31 August 2022, Regragui was appointed as the new head coach for the Morocco national team after the dismissal of former head coach Vahid Halilhodžić.

On 21 September 2022, Regragui coached his first friendly game, which ended in a 1-0 victory against Madagascar. In the 2022 FIFA World Cup, he led Morocco to the knockout stage for the first time since 1986, and to the quarter finals after beating Spain on penalties in the round of 16, making Morocco the fourth African nation and the first Arab nation to qualify for this stage in a World Cup competition.

Pape Thiaw (Senegal): Thiaw played for several clubs in France, Switzerland and Spain, as well as Dynamo Moscow in Russia on a six-month loan from Strasbourg. He played for Senegal national football team and was a participant at the 2002 FIFA World Cup. He scored 5 goals for his country.

Thiaw was the manager of the Senegal A’ national team that won the 2022 African Nations Championship. African Nations Championship limits the squads to players from the domestic league. The main Senegal squad that participates in the FIFA World Cup and Africa Cup of Nations and includes players from the foreign clubs was managed by Aliou Cissé.

Thiaw was appointed coach of the Senegal national football team on 13 December 2024, following the latter dismissal two month before. In October 2025, he led Senegal to the 2026 FIFA World Cup.