The African Cup of Nations 2025 has moved past the group stage and dropped eight more teams as the quarter-finals are lined up next, with some exciting fixtures lined up as the heavyweights stay on course for glory.

The Super Eagles of Nigeria appear to have put their misfortunes of recent months behind them and have so far stood out as the best team at the tournament, winning all four games without needing extra time.

Eric Chelle's charge also led the way for most goals scored, with 12, scoring in all the halves of the tournament, and has so far produced at least two goals in each of their matches.

Algeria has also been perfect, but needed extra time to put away a stubborn DR Congo in the round of 16, although they completed the group campaign with three wins, joining Nigeria as the only two nations with perfect records.

Other heavyweights like Egypt, Senegal, Cameroon, the Ivory Coast, and host nation Morocco also progressed from their group with unbeaten records and have all reached the last eight by dispatching their opponents.

Mali remain the odd ones in the quarter-finals, and their journey has been nothing short of a fairytale. They remain without a win in normal time yet unbeaten, beating Tunisia on penalties after drawing all three group games.

None of the eight quarter-final entrants has lost a game so far in the African Cup of Nations 2025, a statistics that translate into the fact that the upcoming round will be as fierce as it has ever been.

Yet, in the midst of the dominance of these teams, a lot of nations and individuals have recorded standout milestones so far, and ahead of the resumption of hostilities on Friday, here are some of the records matched and set so far in Morocco 2025.

10 standout milestones so far in 2025 AFCON 

10. Morocco set a new passing record 

During the tournament's curtain raiser, Morocco completed 206 passes in the final third of the pitch against Comoros, a new record by a single team in an AFCON match since Opta records began.

They failed to convert their chances in a frustrating first half, but goals from Brahim Diaz and Ayoub El Kaabi secured a deserved 2-0 win after the interval.

9. Explosive Nigeria set a record goal 

Nigeria scored two goals in the first 25 minutes of an Africa Cup of Nations knockout match for the first time in their history at the ongoing 35th edition of the tournament.

The historic moment came in their latest 4-0 win over Mozambique in the round of 16, thanks to Victor Osimhen's 25th-minute strike, which added to Ademola Lookman's opener five minutes earlier.

8. Mohamed Salah equaled the record for victims

Egyptian captain Mohamed Salah entered his name into an exclusive circle of African legends to score against 10 different national teams in African Cup of Nations history. 

Salah reached this milestone during the ongoing 2025 edition in Morocco, netting his 10th career AFCON goal in a dramatic 3-1 extra-time victory over Benin. 

The strike cements his legacy alongside African greats Samuel Eto’o of Cameroon, Didier Drogba of the Ivory Coast, and Ghana's André Ayew.

7. Marmoush set a new AFCON stat record 

During Egypt's opening match against Zimbabwe, Omar Marmoush became the first player to both attempt 8+ shots and complete 7+ dribbles in an AFCON match since Opta records began in 2004.

It was a busy night for the Manchester City attacker, who attempted the same number of shots as the entire Zimbabwe team, and scored a sensational equalizer before Mohamed Salah completed the Pharaohs' comeback.

6. A record fourth first-place finish for Atlas Lions

Morocco made history by finishing top of their group for a record fourth consecutive edition, surpassing the previous AFCON record by any nation, which they equaled two years ago in the Ivory Coast. 

The Atlas Lions secured seven points in Group A, defeating Comoros 2-0 and Zambia 3-0, while drawing 1-1 with Mali, to finish top of the pile, four points ahead of their closest rival, Mali.

5. Kofane claims Cameroon's youngest goalscorer since Etoo'o 

At 19 years and 5 months, Christian Kofane became the second-youngest goalscorer for Cameroon in the knockout stage of the AFCON, trailing only Samuel Eto'o, 18 years, 10 months.

The Bayer Leverkusen striker headed home Mahamadou Nagida's cross to double Cameroon's lead, two minutes into the second half, in the round of 16 meeting with South Africa, a goal that eventually proved the winner in a 2-1 victory.

4. Maza became Algeria's youngest goalscorer in AFCON 

Sensational youngster Ibrahim Maza came off the bench late on in Algeria's win over Sudan, scored, and became the youngest goalscorer for the country in AFCON history at 20 years and 30 days, breaking the previous record held by Nabil Bentaleb.

He also starred in the final group game against Equatorial Guinea, scoring one and assisting another to become the youngest player to assist a goal for the Fennec in AFCON history.

3. Mbaye youngest AFCON goalscorer in the 21st century 

At 17 years 344 days, Ibrahim Mbaye of Senegal became the youngest player to score at the CAF Africa Cup of Nations in the 21st century.

The PSG winger came off the bench to score a third for the Teranga Lions in their 3-1 comeback win over Sudan's Falcon of Jediane in the round of 16 on January 3rd.

2. Historical Riyad Mahrez 

Riyad Mahrez scored a brace in Algeria's opening game in a 3-0 victory over Sudan to become the highest scoring Algerian in the history of the African Cup of Nations, taking his tally in the competition to eight.

The former CAF Men's Player of the Year winner also achieved a new milestone of becoming only the second Algerian to score in four different AFCON editions after Rabah Madjer

1. Tanzania, and Mozambique made knockout debuts 

Both Tanzania and Mozambique progressed as the third-best-placed teams in Group C and F, respectively, to reach the African Cup of Nations knockout round for the first time in their history.

Tanzania recovered from an opening game loss to Nigeria by drawing against Uganda and Tunisia, while Mozambique beat Gabon between losses to the Ivory Coast and Cameroon.

Both countries have been dumped out in the round of 16 by Morocco and Nigeria, respectively, but go home with their heads up, knowing they have achieved what no one, no team, and no group has ever done for their nation.