My AFCON 11

With the African Cup Of Nations kicking off, I have picked my AFCON 11 and a brief summary of each player. Hopefully, there may be some players you have not heard of. Please tell me yours!!

Goalkeeper: Andre Onana (Cameroon). Back with perfect timing for his nations home African Cup of Nations! Onana was arguably unlucky to receive 9-month ban having taken what he thought was paracetamol for a headache the day after a Champions league tie with Atalanta. He had actually accidentally taken Lasimac, a Furosemide-based diuretic, with Furosemide being on WADA banned list. Since leaving Barcelona due to the arrival of Claudio Bravo and Marc-Andre Ter Stegen, Onana has climbed through the ranks of Jong Ajax, to become the mainstay in between the sticks at the Johan Cruijff ArenA. As can be expected with any Barcelona or Ajax goalkeeper, Onana is brilliant with the ball at his feet, but additionally, he is very good with his hand distribution. Some writers noting his “netball style throw”. Onana’s shot save % is around 71% which only 1-6% below the likes of Alisson, Ter Stegen, Courtois, Ederson and Senegalese rival Eduard Mendy, which is why, up until his ban, he was routinely linked with big clubs across Europe. If the home nation are to go deep into AFCON, it is surely going to include some brilliant performances from the Ajax man.

Right-back: Achraf Hakimi (Morocco). Hakimi made his big-money move to Paris St Germain in the summer from Internazionale. Over Hakimi’s career, he has excelled well beyond the leading Right-back’s when it comes to his Goal’s+Assist’s per90. Admittedly, defensively, he can struggle when facing attackers 1v1, but in a proactive and pressing side, he is one of the strongest for pressures.

Left-back: Ramy Bensebaini (Algeria). Algeria are one of the most in-form teams going into the African Cup of Nations. Ramy Bensebaini could be a strong piece of the machine if Algeria are to impress. Defensively he is solid, with a better tackle per90 record than the top left-backs in Europe including Robertson, Chilwell and Theo Hernandez. Versus dribbles, he is among the best statistically and this is likewise in his pressing successes. Attacking wise Bensebaini is not as strong as the leading left-backs, but hopefully, he is able to impress at AFCON.

Centre-backs: Bouna Sarr (Senegal) and Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast). At this point, my natural position was to look at Kalidou Koulibaly. He has played more this season than either of my choices, however…when you look at the statistics, both Sarr and Bailly have been brilliant when they play. Sarr is part of a Bayern Munich side that is strong, whilst injuries and changing managers have left Bailly down the pecking order at Manchester United. Meanwhile, Koulibaly is the main man at Napoli and is having a brilliant season. That said, AFCON is not club form and Sarr will be a partner to Koulibaly in a strong Senegal team and Eric Bailly will be the main centre-back with Ivory Coast. Hopefully, all three are able to have strong tournaments in what is probably the most excited and highest level of quality AFCON in history.

Central-Midfield: Ilaix Moriba (Guinea), Amadou Diawara (Guinea) and Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia). With my midfield, I have actively tried to avoid the obvious names. Whilst Keita, Partey, Bennacer and the likes will no doubt have strong tournaments, the players I have picked are young and exciting players and names you may not have heard or seen much of.

Moriba joined RB Leipzig this season from Barcelona. RB Leipzig were quick to take advantage of the Barcelona financial situation, but no doubt the rise of Pedri and Gavi will have impacted Ilaix’s decision to go elsewhere. Other than Florian Wirtz, there is not a big name teenage central midfielder with a higher xG than Moriba per-90 minutes with 0.19 per-90. Moriba stands alongside Pedri as the leading completed at 55.8 passes per-90 and a high 91.5% accuracy.

Amadou Diawara is an exciting midfielder in the style of Ngolo Kante, Idrissa Gana Gueye or Yvies Bissouma. Unfortunately, due to injuries and changing of manager at Roma, Diawara has only started 82 games since his debut for Bologna in 2015-16. His statistics do not quite reach the likes of Kante or Bissouma, yet nevertheless, I am excited to see him in a high intensity Guinean midfield alongside Naby Keita.

Hannibal Mejbri is probably the biggest unknown of the midfield I have chosen, having played the grand total of 9 Premier League minutes for Manchester United. There is still no doubt of the Tunisian’s talent. Despite the lack of club appearances, Hannibal has played 4 times for his country and last season in Premier League-2 racked up a goal/assist ratio of 0.49 per-90. I would highly recommend a trip to Youtube to see Hannibal’s best skills! Although, of course this isn’t always the most accurate measure of a player.

Right-Forward: Jeremie Boga (Ivory Coast). Boga has been a big part of a very exciting Sassuolo side since 2018-19. Having come through the Chelsea conveyor belt, Boga was only able to make 1 appearance for the Blues. He can play in Midfield or as an attacker and has a Shot-creation rate of 3.09 per-90 this season in the league. Unfortunately, Boga is in a strong Ivorian side and may not feature in every game, but when you consider he has a higher successful dribble % than Mohammed Salah, he is an exciting player to look out for when he does play.

Left-Forward: Ismaila Sarr (Senegal). “Take care of my boy” Sadio Mane says to then Watford Captain, Troy Deeney, after Liverpool win 2-0 at Anfield on the 14th of December 2019. Roll forward to February 2020 and Isamaila Sarr is coming off the pitch at Vicarage road having scored twice against The Reds. From the moment Mane spoke so highly of Sarr, I have been monitoring him. This season has been hit by injuries and Watford’s poor Premier League form, yet Sarr has still scored 5 goals in just 12 appearances. The Mane link routinely creates noise that Liverpool are following Sarr’s progress and with dribbling statistics are on par with his international teammate’s and likewise with his shot-creation per-90 minute stats, it is easy to see why. Ironically, it may be Sadio Mane that keeps him out of the team for Senagal, but I for one hope we see him have a strong tournament!

Centre-forward: Sebastian Haller (Ivory Coast). The most goals in his first 5 Champions League games record! No not Cristiano Ronaldo, not Robert Lewandowski and not Lionel Messi. Sebastian Romain Teddy Haller of Ajax and Ivory Coast! I remember the first time I saw Haller playing for France in the Toulon Tournament in 2014 and since then I have been intrigued. After coming through at Auxerre, Haller had a good scoring record for Utrecht and Eintracht Frankfurt. However, British fans will mostly be familiar with his struggle at West Ham United. But I urge you to acknowledge this as a blip. West Ham were a very different team at that point and unfortunately, at 6 foot 1, Haller was played much as an outlet to hold up the ball, which has never been his strength. Since moving to Ajax, Haller has a goal-scoring ratio of over a goal every 2 games and this season a goal + assist ratio of 1 per game. The Ivorian will no doubt have a massive part to play if his country are to go far in the tournament. Finally, his comments regarding the lack of respect for a tournament that is older than the European Championship, definitely score points with me.

I hope you enjoy this read and the African Cup of Nations. Let me know which players you are looking forward to seeing.

✌⚽ Hopper.