🔍 10 unmissable talents at the Africa Cup of Nations 🏆 | OneFootball

The Africa Cup of Nations has, for years now, been a tournament featuring some of the best footballers in the world.

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The 2025 edition will be no exception: stars like Achraf Hakimi, Mohamed Salah, and Ademola Lookman will take the field in Morocco from December 21 to January 18.

That said, the tournament remains an important showcase for many talents still little known to Italian fans. Let's take a look at the ten most interesting players.

Chemsdine Talbi - Morocco - 2005

The Sunderland winger arrived in the Premier League last summer after coming up through Club Brugge in Belgium, the country where he was born.

Having only recently entered Walid Regragui's rotations, he is not expected to start for Morocco, but he could be an excellent weapon to use during the match.

Kamory Doumbia - Mali - 2003

The Brest attacking midfielder is a great promise in Ligue 1, where he has been delivering a good number of goals and assists for a few seasons now.

For Mali, however, he is already a certainty: the 9 goals scored in the last two years make him the star of a national team that will once again be seeking recognition.

Mbekeli Mbokazi - South Africa - 2005

The Orlando Pirates central defender, at twenty years old, has already worn the captain's armband several times for his club, one of the most prestigious in South Africa.

He could be part of the starting eleven in the Africa Cup of Nations and provide protection to an attacking team that tends to maintain possession of the ball for long stretches.

Benjamin Fredrick - Nigeria - 2005

The Dender defender, owned by Brentford, has amazed everyone in Nigeria with the speed at which he secured a starting spot in a highly competitive national team.

Capable of playing as either a right-back or central defender, he arrived just as captain William Troost-Ekong decided to retire.

Ismael Gharbi - Tunisia - 2004

The Paris Saint-Germain academy winger recently chose to represent Tunisia after playing in the youth teams of Spain and France.

He is not a first choice at Augsburg, who already released him for the Arab Cup that began on December 1, but he could find more playing time with the national team.

Noah Sadiki - DR Congo - 2004

The midfielder, who came up through Anderlecht in Belgium, is another of Sunderland's African signings from the last summer transfer window.

He made his national team debut only in 2024, but has already collected 13 caps and will surely be among the starters for one of the most interesting teams in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Ibrahim Mbaye - Senegal - 2008

The Paris Saint-Germain right winger is one of the many emerging Senegalese stars and will be among the youngest players called up for the Africa Cup of Nations.

He probably won't start, but the fact that he has already chosen Senegal demonstrates the renewed appeal of the African national team, which is counting on him for the future.

Ibrahim Maza - Algeria - 2005

The Bayer Leverkusen attacking midfielder, born and raised in Germany, is one of the many Algerian talents playing in the Bundesliga.

He too is unlikely to be part of Vladimir Petkovic's starting lineup, but the Bosnian coach is counting on his qualities to provide a spark in case of a stalemate.

Christian Kofane - Cameroon - 2006

The forward, another gem from Bayer Leverkusen, has yet to debut for the national team, but has been included in the squad for the Africa Cup of Nations.

The 5 goals and 5 assists recorded in the first months of this season convinced Samuel Eto'o's Football Federation to rely on the talent born in Douala.

Yan Diomande - Ivory Coast - 2006

The RB Leipzig winger is another of the surprises of this early part of the Bundesliga season: 6 goals and 3 assists are a very respectable haul.

His performances have not gone unnoticed, so much so that coach Emerse Fae gave him his debut in October. He already has 2 goals in 4 matches for the national team.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇮🇹 here.

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