AFCON 2023: CAF selects group stage best eleven, Nigerian players absent | Headline News
The Confederation of African Football (CAF) on Thursday selected the group stage best eleven for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to be held in Ivory Coast, but no Nigerian players were included.
Not even Victor Osimhen, the reigning African best footballer who had a great 2023 with Napoli and the Super Eagles, didn't make the list, which is not surprising at all.
Osimhen, who was named Man of the Match in the Super Eagles' 1-0 win over hosts Ivory Coast at AFCON 2023, has scored just one goal in three games, a disappointing result. Ta.
The 25-year-old, who scored 31 goals in 39 games for Napoli last season and 10 in the AFCON 2023 qualifiers, wasted a crucial chance in Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, the 2023 AFCON group stage best eleven is dominated by Morocco and Senegal. Morocco has four, Senegal has three, Equatorial Guinea has two, and the Democratic Republic of Congo and Angola have one each.
Equatorial Guinea's Jesús Owono has prevented the most goals and is unsurprisingly the goalkeeper in the AFCON 2023 Group Stage Best Eleven, especially after his country finished first in Group A.
Achraf Hakimi has been a regular in Morocco's starting XI in the three matches in which he played 279 minutes, playing right-back. He completed 147 passes for a pass completion rate of 88%.
Despite being a defender, the Paris Saint-Germain player created nine chances, the most in the group stage, contributing one goal and one assist.
Kalidou Koulibaly, the winning captain of the 2021 Senegal team, is one of the two central defenders, the other being Nayef Ageld of Morocco, and Arthur Masuaku of the Democratic Republic of the Congo in the left-back position occupies .
The three midfielders in the 4-3-3 formation are Morocco's Sofian Amrabat and Azzedine Unahi, and Senegal's Ramin Kamara.
The attacking line-up includes Angolan winger Gerson Dalla, Equatorial Guinea striker Emilio Nsué, who is currently the top scorer at AFCON 2023 with five goals, and Senegalese forward Ismaila Sarr.
Source: guardian.ng