AFCON 2023: Meet the 11 football stars ready to illuminate Cote d’Ivoire

Without a doubt, the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON 2023) will be one of the most memorable in recent times, with the quality of key actors that will be gracing the grass in Cote d’Ivoire.

Two of the teams participating at the competition boast of the top two strikers on the continent, in Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah.

The Guardian takes a look at 11 players that are ready to shine in Cote d’Ivoire when the tournament finally kicks off on Saturday, January 13, 2024.

Yassine Bounou (Morocco and Al Hilal)

Yassine Bounou was highly instrumental to Morocco finishing fourth at the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar with the goalkeeper making great saves during regulation time, extra time, and penalty shootouts.

Bounou also won the Europa League with Sevilla after saving two spot kicks in a 4–1 win over Roma in the penalty shootout after the final had ended 1–1.

The 32-year-old, who currently plies his trade with Al Hilal in the Saudi Arabian Professional League, is without doubt the number one goalkeeper to watch out for at AFCON 2023.

Achraf Hakimi (Morocco and Paris Saint-Germain)

Achraf Hakimi was one of the favourites to win the 2023 CAF Men’s Best Player award after helping Morocco to become the first African country to reach the semi-finals of the FIFA World Cup.

Hakimi, however, lost the prize to Victor Osimhen of Napoli and Nigeria with Mohamed Salah the other player to make the final three-man shortlist for the CAF Men’s Player of the year award.

The 25-year-old is certainly the number one right-back to watch at AFCON 2023, having won the Ligue 1 title with Paris Saint-Germain last season after tallying five goals and six assists in 39 appearances across all competitions.

Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria and Borussia Dortmund)

Ramy Bensebaini is a defender who is very strong in aerial duels, blocking the ball, passing, and ball interception as he has always done the business for both Algeria and Borussia Dortmund.

Although, he has a few weaknesses such as crossing of the ball and discipline on the pitch, Bensebaini has done quite well since joining Dortmund on a free transfer during the summer of 2023.

The 28-year-old left-back originally moved to the Bundesliga in 2019 when he joined Borussia Monchengladbach from French side Rennes and has since scored 19 goals in 108 appearances in Germany’s top flight.

Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal and Al Hilal)

Kalidou Koulibaly was highly instrumental to Senegal winning its first ever AFCON title in Cameroon in 2022 and despite the fact that he has left Europe, the Teranga Lions still rely on the defender.

Koulibaly will still be vital to Senegal retaining their AFCON trophy in Cote d’Ivoire even as the centre-back has insisted that the 2023 edition of the tournament will be the best in history.

The 32-year-old will go all out to help the Teranga Lions, who are one of the strong title contenders, as the reigning champions reach their third consecutive AFCON finals after 2019 and 2022.

Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso and Bayer Leverkusen)

Edmond Tapsoba’s quality performance week in, week out for Bayer Leverkusen has kept them on top of the German Bundesliga with the side also yet to lose any match so far during the 2023/24 season.

Tapsoba has been so good at Leverkusen to the extent that the central defender has now been added to Paris Saint-Germain’s growing centre-back shortlist, according to a report from RMC Sport.

Despite his young age, the 24-year-old, who is already in his fifth season at Leverkusen due to his aggressive tackling and ability to burst into attack from defence, is the key player for Burkina Faso at the 2023 AFCON.

Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal and Tottenham)

Pape Matar Sarr will be highly instrumental to Senegal retaining the AFCON trophy they won in Cameroon in 2022 with the Tottenham Hotspur player such a dependable defensive midfielder.

Sarr has already established himself as an integral first-team player under Spurs manager, Ange Postecoglou, and was recently rewarded with a new long-term contract by the North London club.

The 21-year-old has made 33 appearances across all competitions since his return to Tottenham, scoring five goals, including two in 18 Premier League games so far this season.

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa (Cameroon and Napoli)

Andre-Frank Zambo Anguissa is certainly one of the best midfielders from Africa at this very point in time and little wonder he continues to be the focal point for the Indomitable Lions of Cameroon.

Anguissa played a huge role to help Napoli win their first Serie A title in 33-years during the 2022/23 season and is at the top of his game with a lot of his team-mates looking up to him for guidance.

After the Lions finished third at the AFCON which Cameroon hosted in 2022, he can motivate them to success in Cote d’Ivoire and has always proven his abilities for both club and country whenever the need arises.

Mohammed Kudus (Ghana and West Ham)

Mohammed Kudus remains one of the most skillful players to ever come out of Africa and his versatility across the middle of the pitch or forward line will be vital for the Black Stars of Ghana.

The 24 year-old possesses close ball control, an eye for the killer pass and an ability to rifle them home from practically anywhere on the pitch. He has also has taken the Premier League by storm with West Ham United this season.

Kudus, who has scored 10 goals in 24 matches in all competitions for the Hammers, is 12th on the list in the Premier League for goals per minute despite not being an out-and-out striker but more of an attacking midfielder in a team which is not even one of the top six in England’s top-flight.

Mohamed Salah (Egypt and Liverpool)

They say “success is not final and failure is not fatal”. The weight of these words must have resonated with the Egyptian god who came down to his people in the likeness of Mohamed Salah.

Salah’s move to Chelsea in 2014 from Swiss club FC Basel, was deemed as a failure by those who measured his success.

After two years of struggle, his loan sojourn at Fiorentina and Roma molded him into one of the most deadly forwards the Premier League has ever seen.

Liverpool had one of their most troubled time since Jurgen Klopp’s arrival last season, with the massive on-field reform that took place.

Over the past few seasons, Salah had formed a formidable and forceful front three with Sadio Mane and Roberto Firmino.

They delivered a Premier League title and a UEFA Champions League trophy for The Reds.

Despite the clear out, from the attack to the midfield by Klopp, which affected Mane and Firmino, Salah’s wizardry did not wane.

He made history last year, in the 7-0 demolition of Manchester United at Anfield in March, as he became the club’s all-time top scorer in the Premier League.

He has broken a number of records at the club, including their all-time top scorer in the UEFA Champions League.

In 2023, at club level, Salah scored 24 goals in the English topflight; one goal in the UEFA Champions League; one in the Carabao Cup; one in the FA Cup and three times in the UEFA Europa League.

The captain of the Pharaohs of Egypt scored 30 goals in 2023 alone to be the highest scoring forward heading to AFCON.

Salah is chasing a first trophy with Egypt at AFCON 2023.

Sadio Mane (Senegal and Al Nassr)

Sadio Mane might have lost the sparkling touch he had in front of goal at Liverpool but one should take nothing away from the forward as Senegal try to defend the AFCON trophy it won in Cameroon in 2022.

Mane and his team are aiming to become the first nation to retain the title since Egypt’s run of three in a row between 2006 and 2010 and he is still the main man for his nation.

Best player of the previous edition, the Lions of Teranga star player, despite plying his trade with Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, will once again be the man to watch when he captains his side in their title defence at AFCON 2023.

Victor Osimhen (Nigeria and Napoli)

What more is there to say about Victor Osimhen? The year 2023 was literally made for the Napoli striker. Since 2020 when he made the big-money move from Lille to the Diego Armando Maradona Stadium, Osimhen has seen a steady rise in his profile, as he grew into a potent force.

Each season was a brick on the other. Last year was like the crescendo for the 25-year-old who metamorphosed into one of the most lethal attackers in the world.

He was a famed protagonist in the Partenopei’s fairytale ride to the Scudetto, which went to Naples for the first time in 33 years last season.

Osimhen scored 31 goals in all competitions alone in the 2022/23 season and made history on several fronts in the year.

He netted 24 goals in the league and five times in Europe last year alone to make it 29 goals, ending the year just one goal shy of Salah’s haul.

On the back of his unstoppable effort to secure the league title for Napoli, he became the first African to win the Golden Boot in the 125-year history of the league, after he notched 26 goals in the campaign.

He surpassed George Weah’s record of 46 goals; highest in the league by any African. Also, he surpassed Samuel Eto’o’s highest number of goals in the league by an African in a single season.

Those milestones earned him an eighth-place finish in the 2023 Ballon d’Or, which was the highest by any African last year.

He also became the first Super Eagle to be nominated for the award in 24 years after Nwankwo Kanu in 1999. The icing on the cake was being named CAF Men’s Best Player Of The Year, at a ceremony in Marakkech, Morocco, on December 11, which will remain historic, in the annals of Nigerian sports.