Second-ranked Senegal take on Egypt in the first of the semi-finals in Tangier, followed by the clash between hosts Morocco and Nigeria in Rabat.
These are the players from both sides with the most experience at the tournament and whose could be key to their respective team’s chance.
Yassine Bounou (Morocco)
The 34-year-old goalkeeper was picked for the 2017 finals in Gabon but stayed on the bench throughout, playing his first finals game in 2019 against Namibia. The semi-final against Nigeria will be his 17th game at the finals.
Munir El Kajoui (Morocco)
This is the fifth Cup of Nations finals for the backup goalkeeper, but he played only in the 2017 tournament and one match in 2019 (against South Africa) and one match in 2021. He has been on the bench ever since.
Youssef En Nesyri (Morocco)
No longer first-choice striker but still a strong option off the bench, this is his fifth tournament. He has five goals in 20 matches, one off the all-time record goals for Morocco at the finals held by Ahmed Faras, the hero of their 1976 winning team.
Idrissa Gana Gueye (Senegal)
Gueye’s six tournament appearances have seen him play in 27 finals matches. The 36-year-old first competed at the 2015 edition in Equatorial Guinea and has both a winners’ medal from 2021 and a runners-up medal from the 2019 edition.
Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal)
The former Chelsea and Napoli centre back marked his 100th cap for his country at the tournament in Morocco but was sent off in the same game. The 34-year-old is competing at a fifth Cup of Nations finals and Wednesday will be his 25th match at the tournament.
Sadio Mane (Senegal)
The former African Footballer of the Year has netted 10 goals in 27 tournament appearances since his first Cup of Nations finals run out in the 2015 edition against Bafana Bafana. He tucked away the decisive penalty that won Senegal the title in Yaoundé four years ago.
Romain Saiss (Morocco)
The skipper hurt himself in the opening game of the tournament against Comoros and his fifth tournament appearance looks to have come to an end after only 19 minutes. He played first in 2017 and has been through much heartbreak with Morocco over the last four tournaments.
Mohamed Salah (Egypt)
The Pharaoh inexplicably missed out on the finals for three successive editions in 2012, 2013 and 2015, so Salah has only played in five tournaments since 2017. He has 11 goals in 23 matches.
Mahmoud Trezeguet (Egypt)
The winger has been to five tournaments in a row and twice finished as a runner-up. The first was against Hugo Broos’ Cameroon in 2017 and then again at the 2010 finals in Cameroon, where his side lost on post-match spot kicks to Egypt.
Nigeria did not qualify for the Cup of Nations in either 2015 or 2017, so none of their players have competed in more than four tournaments since the 2019 edition in Egypt.