The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has so far been one of the most entertaining in the tournament’s history.
What we witnessed in the past couple of weeks might be one of the most entertaining group stages of any tournament.
By James Nalton
Defending champions Senegal have been the only team to really live up to expectations, winning all three of their group games.
Some other bigger names on the continent such as Ghana, Tunisia, and Algeria are already out, while hosts Ivory Coast only just scraped through to the knockout rounds as one of the third-place teams.
Aside from Senegal, the best teams in this tournament have been Cape Verde and Equatorial Guinea.
And this isn’t just a romanticising of the underdog — these teams have been genuinely good.
There have been other underdog stories, too. Namibia and Mauritania have both won their first-ever games at an AFCON during this group stage and qualified for the knockouts on the back of those wins.
The third-lowest-ranked team at the start of the tournament, Angola, topped a group that included the much higher-ranked Algeria and Burkina Faso.
Amid all of this have been players putting in some heroic performances and catching the eye during a dramatic 12 days.
Here is a best XI from the group stages, based on regular standout or consistent performances.
Goalkeeper: 🇬🇶 Jesús Owono
Equatorial Guinea’s opening game against Nigeria, in which they survived a barrage of attacks from their opponents to draw 1-1, gave them the platform from which to go on and win the group.
They could not have done this without Owono who made six saves and faced an xG on target of 2.60, allowing just one goal.
Despite barely featuring in La Liga for his club side, Alaves, he is proving himself one of the best goalkeepers at this tournament for the second edition in a row.
Right-Back: 🇲🇦 Achraf Hakimi
Edging Krepin Diatta of Senegal, Hakimi shone in all three of Morocco’s group matches, assisting a goal in a 3-0 win against Tanzania, and scoring in the 1-1 draw with DR Congo.
Even in the game against Zambia when he didn’t register a goal contribution, he was still one of the best players on the pitch.
Centre-Back: 🇦🇴 Kialonda Gaspar
Gaspar’s all-round performance against Burkina Faso earned him the official Man of the Match award and helped his side finish top of the group.
He finished that game having completed 41 out of 47 passes attempted (87%) and having made 15 defensive actions.
In the 3-2 win against Mauritania, Gaspar won a remarkable 13 of 13 aerial duels he contested.
Centre-Back: 🇨🇻 Logan Costa
Costa has been a steady, solid presence at the back for the standout Cape Verde side, contributing in and out of possession.
His displays in defence helped them top the group unbeaten, and has played all three games—a mainstay in the backline even among rotation around him in the final game against Egypt.
Aged 22, the Toulouse centre-back may attract attention from across Europe on the back of these performances.
Left-Back: 🇨🇩 Arthur Masuaku
Masuaku was a consistent presence and often a threat to the opposition as DR Congo qualified for the knockout stages thanks to three draws in the group stage.
He performed well against Morocco’s strong right side in their important 1-1 draw with the group winners.
Ali Abdi also showed up well in this position despite Tunisia’s early exit.
Midfield: 🇲🇷 Omaré Gassama
Gassama has been one of the standouts for a Mauritania team that won their first game at an AFCON, against Algeria no less, qualifying for the knockout rounds in the process.
He displayed more quality on the ball in the defeats to Angola and Burkina Faso, but his defensive work has been noticeable throughout the group stage.
Midfield: 🇲🇦 Azzedine Ounahi
Marseille midfielder Ounahi has been one of the most eye-catching players in this tournament so far, putting in notable performances in each of Morocco’s group stage matches.
The 23-year-old has shown some tidy passing even in more advanced areas, and boasts a pass success of 94%. He is up there with the tournament’s best chance creators with five, and an xA of 0.6.
Midfield: 🇲🇱 Kamory Doumbia
Doumbia stood out in Mali’s 2-0 win against South Africa, assisting one of the goals. He followed it up with another promising display against Tunisia where he also registered an assist in a 1-1 draw.
The 20-year-old has good all-round ability thanks to technique and quickness of thought and looks like he could play in any midfield position.
Mali coach Éric Chelle has so far used him in a more attacking role as a No. 10, which has worked well.
To address the Lion of Teranga in the room, all of Senegal’s midfielders were close to making this XI, and no doubt many of them will be present in any best XI come the end of the tournament.
Right Wing: 🇬🇶 Iban Salvador
While Owono contributed greatly in goal, Salvador nabbed the goal against Nigeria which gave Equatorial Guinea the platform to go on and win the group.
That first game, in which he also created two chances, was his standout performance, but he has contributed in and out of possession to his team’s progress, offering defensive support throughout.
Left Wing: 🇲🇷 Aboubakary Koita
Koita was a vital outlet down the left wing for Mauritania as they upset the odds in Group D.
He has been one of the players most eager to take on his marker, and often beats them, boasting a dribble success of 91.7%.
This go-forward helped drive Mauritania out of defensive positions against Algeria and contributed to their memorable win and progress.
Striker: 🇨🇻 Emilio Nsue
Nsue goes into the knockout stage of this tournament leading the goalscoring charts with five.
He gets into the XI ahead of Mostafa Mohamed of Egypt who scored in each of his team’s group games.
Nsue’s performances were one of the stories of the group stage. Against Guinea-Bissau, he scored the first hat-trick an AFCON tournament has seen since 2008, before going on to net a brace in a shock 4-0 win against hosts Ivory Coast.
Not bad for a player who spent most of his club career playing at right-back.
(Images from IMAGO)
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