AFCON is one of the most exciting football competitions in Africa. Organized by the Confédération Africaine de Football (CAF), this event takes place every two years. The competition was first held in Khartoum, Sudan, in February 1957, which saw Egypt as the winners of the first AFCON edition. AFCON is quite an underrated tournament and doesn’t quite get the recognition it truly really deserves. Throughout the years, we’ve seen great national team sides participate in the tournament. Not to mention some of the greatest football players of all time such as Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba that used to represent their national teams in this tournament. Today, there is a new generation of extraordinary footballers in the tournament. We can’t mention them all, but we’ve narrowed it down to who we believe are the five greatest players in this year’s edition of AFCON. Here we go.
Riyad Mahrez, Algeria
The Manchester City winger Riyad Mahrez is captain of the Algeria national team. Throughout the years Mahrez has established himself to be a key player for Manchester City, and a prominent player in the Premier League. In his early days at Leicester City, we knew Mahrez was going to be an important player in the world of football.
On an international level, he has 73 national team appearances, scoring 26 goals and giving 34 assists in the process. An extraordinary statistic for the winger at international level, proving how important he is to the national team. He is probably the best player on the national team. There is no surprise that Mahrez made this list – He truly is exceptional! Even though Algeria have already been knocked out of this years AFCON, we couldn’t leave out such an incredible player on this list.
Mohamed Salah, Egypt
Mohamed Salah is perhaps the greatest footballer in the world right now. He’s been on great form for several seasons now, and he doesn’t seem to be slowing down any time soon. This season alone, the 29-year-old has already bagged in 23 goals and given 9 assists in just 26 games in all competitions for Liverpool. On the other hand, throughout his national team career he has played 76 games, scored 44 goals, and assisted his teammates 24 times in the process. Yet again, another impressive statistic. In fact, thanks to these statistics he has a current market value of €100m according to Transfermarkt.
Achraf Hakimi, Morocco
The Paris Saint German right wingback is well known to be an attacking threat down the flank. Many consider him to be one of the best and most dangerous wingbacks at this moment in time. During his time at Borussia and Inter he had shown tremendous attacking quality. Due to this, PSG lined up an important offer to Inter in the 2021 Summer Transfer market, to which they accepted. He was bought for a fee of €66m and PSG never looked back, as he currently plays a key role in Pochettino’s game plan. His market value probably increased further in the last months because of his exceptional performances.
Hakimi has had 44 national team appearances so far in his career, scoring six goals and providing 6 assists in the process. He’s an important player to Morocco’s side and we’re quite sure he has a lot to offer his national team and club in the years to come.
Sébastien Haller, Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast national team player, Haller, is proving himself to be quite an important player for his club and country this season. The Ajax forward has only had 11 national team appearances so far in his career, however still managing to score 4 times and assist once in the process. On another note, he has already netted 22 goals and provided 6 assists in 25 games for Ajax this season. It’s also worth mentioning that 10 out of the 22 goals were scored in the Champions League – The most prestigious tournament one can play in at club level. There’s no doubt he will help Ivory Coast make the difference at this year’s AFCON edition.
Sadio Mané, Senegal
Yet another Liverpool player on the list set to lead his national team – Sadio Mané. Everyone knows what Mané can do with the ball at his feet. Seeing his form for Liverpool in recent years makes it no surprise that he is on this list. The same can be said for his form with Senegal as he’s proved to be an important player for his national team too, throughout the years. In just 81 games for Senegal, Mané has scored 26 goals and has also given 18 assists. There’s not much more to say about Mané, he just had to make this list. The numbers don’t lie!
Conclusion
The AFCON is ongoing, and the best African national teams are clashing to go all the way till the very end. The excitement that competitions like AFCON bring to football fans is one of the reasons many online casinos such as Platincasino UK provide football themed games. With Algeria already knocked out of this year’s AFCON, could we be seeing Salah, Mané, Haller or Hakimi lift the trophy with their national team this year? We’re going to have to wait and find out later, but we can guarantee that it is going to be an exciting one!
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