RENTON, WASH. – Sounders FC players Nouhou and Georgi Minoungou have been called into to their respective national teams for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations, taking place in Morocco from December 21 – January 18. Nouhou joins Cameroon for his third time in the tournament, while Minoungou reports to Burkina Faso to make his AFCON debut. Cameroon and Burkina Faso are among the 24 teams that qualified for the competition, which consists of a Group Stage that ends on December 31 and a Knockout Stage that culminates with the Final on January 18.
Nouhou, 28, has 43 career international caps since making his debut for Cameroon in 2017. This marks his third time participating in AFCON, previously representing Les Lions Indomptables in the 2023 and 2021 iterations of the tournament. Cameroon is in Group F of the 2025 AFCON and is set to face Gabon on December 24, Ivory Coast on December 28 and Mozambique on December 31. Nouhou made 40 appearances (37 starts) in all competitions for Sounders FC in 2025, scoring two goals.
Minoungou, 23, has seven caps for Burkina Faso since making his international debut in September, scoring two goals in a friendly against Benin on November 18. Les Étalons have been placed into Group E of the 2025 AFCON and are set to face Equatorial Guinea on December 24, Algeria on December 28 and Sudan on December 31. Minoungou made 32 appearances (six starts) in all competitions for Seattle in 2025, recording two goals and four assists.
The top two teams in each of the six groups, in addition to the four highest-placing third-place squads, advance to the Knockout Stage. Cameroon is a five-time AFCON winner, most recently being crowned in 2017. Burkina Faso has never won the tournament, finishing second in 2013 and third in 2017.
Sounders FC finished fifth in the Western Conference with 55 points (15-9-10) in 2025, qualifying for the postseason for the 16th time in 17 seasons. In all competitions, the Rave Green played a club-record 50 matches with a 23-13-14 record, also competing in the 2025 Concacaf Champions Cup, FIFA Club World Cup 2025 and Leagues Cup 2025, winning the latter for the ninth major trophy since joining MLS in 2009. The club now heads into the offseason, with its sights set on the 2026 MLS campaign, which kicks off on Sunday, February 22 against the Colorado Rapids (6:00 p.m. PT / Apple TV, FS1).
- SOUNDERS FC -
