AFCON Review | Which Ligue 1 players have impressed during the group stage? | OneFootball

As was the case two years ago, Ligue 1 is the best-represented European league (or “most-impacted”, as some might put it) at this year’s Africa Cup of Nations.

The major names from France’s top flight have not (yet?) emerged as key players in the competition, however, with Achraf Hakimi only returning from injury in Morocco’s final group game and Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang’s Gabon crashing out early doors.

In total, though, fifty players from French football’s top tier travelled to Morocco for Africa’s premier competition. With the group stages now nearly wrapped up, a few of them have already made their mark on the tournament:

Nayef Aguerd (Morocco, Marseille)

With Achraf Hakimi still recovering from his ankle injury at the start of the tournament, the Marseille defender was initially Ligue 1’s sole representative in the host country’s starting eleven. Although rumours of a mid-tournament injury emerged, the centre-back played in all three group stage matches and was a characteristically reliable presence at the back for Morocco.

The Atlas Lions bounced back from a draw against Mali (after which public criticism of head coach Walid Regragui noticeably sharpened) with a commanding display against Zambia to wrap up the group stages on a high. Hakimi came on in the second half, to thunderous acclaim from the Rabat crowd, and was denied Morocco’s fourth goal by an excellent save from goalkeeper Willard Mwanza.

Lassine Sinayoko (Mali, Auxerre)

The Auxerre forward hit the ground running for Mali, scoring twice in as many games as Les Aigles drew against Zambia and Morocco. Although he wasn’t able to break the deadlock against Comoros, Mali nevertheless qualified from Group A in second place all the while failing to win a match. Mamadou Sangaré of Lens, Le Havre’s Fodé Doucouré, and Ousmane Camara of Angers have also been involved for Mali.

Chancel Mbemba (DR Congo, Lille)

It’s the former Lens man Gaël Kakuta who stole the show against Botswana, with two goals and a sensational backheel assist, but DR Congo’s captain has been an equally important part of their AFCON campaign so far. Mbemba’s assured presence and experience, now playing in his sixth AFCON edition, has been key in giving the Congolese the solid platform from which they have built their success so far. The veteran, who is joined in Morocco by his club teammate Ngal’ayel Mukau, was somewhat lucky not to concede a penalty for a handball in the box against Benin, with the VAR not working that evening.

Ibrahim Mbaye (Senegal, Paris Saint-Germain)

The 17-year-old has been an excellent impact substitute for the Teranga Lions, carrying over the momentum he built up this autumn as an increasingly important member of the PSG squad. It was Mbaye whose incisive run and parried shot led to Sadio Mané’s equaliser against DR Congo in the second match.

He played the entirety of the second half against Benin, winning a late penalty which was converted by Cherif Ndiaye. Metz striker Habib Diallo was also on the scoresheet against The Stallions, while Monaco’s Krépin Diatta provided the assist for Abdoulaye Seck’s goal.

Aïssa Mandi (Algeria, Lille)

The Lille defender started the third group stage match from the bench, but by the time they kicked off against Equatorial Guinea the Fennec Foxes had already secured top spot in their group. The Algerian defence kept clean sheets in their first two matches, with the goalscoring exploits of Riyad Mahrez enough to seal the three points in both fixtures.

The team also features Hicham Boudaoui of Nice and Ilan Kebbal of Paris FC, both as starters, and are going into their last 16 clash against DR Congo in strong form.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from Rabat