Sadio Mane (Senegal)
Mane was the hero as Senegal shook off years of underachievement to win the Cup of Nations for the first time in 2022, scoring the winning penalty in the shoot-out against Egypt in Yaounde.
The two-time former African footballer of the year was the runner-up for the Ballon d’Or in 2022 but there might be concerns his career has gone backwards to some extent since then.
Injury ruled him out of the World Cup in Qatar, and he then left Bayern Munich after just one season to join Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League. Does that mean that, now aged 31, he might have lost some of his edge since leaving Europe? Senegal fans will hope not. He is still averaging almost a goal every second game for his club, where he plays alongside Cristiano Ronaldo, and is key to his country’s chances of retaining their continental crown.
Serhou Guirassy (Guinea)
Guinea is ranked only 15th in Africa, has made little impact on the latter stages of recent AFCON tournaments, and faces a fight just to get out of a group containing Senegal, Cameroon and Gambia. Yet they do boast a player who has been a sensation in the German Bundesliga this season in Guirassy, the 27-year-old French-born striker.
The former France Under-20 international had averaged a very respectable 10 league goals a season over the last three years at Rennes and then VfB Stuttgart but his form with the latter in this campaign has been remarkable.
Guirassy has 19 goals in 16 games in all competitions for his club, including two hat-tricks, to help Stuttgart up to third in the table. Only Harry Kane of Bayern Munich has scored more Bundesliga goals. Now it remains to be seen if he can transfer his club form to the international stage, where his record so far with Guinea is modest.
Youssef En-Nesyri (Morocco)
Morocco is one of the big favourites off the back of their run to the semi-finals of the 2022 World Cup, the best-ever performance by an African nation. Their star player is a full-back, Achraf Hakimi of Paris Saint-Germain, but they need a striker to deliver the goods too and that is where En-Nesyri comes in.
The 26-year-old Sevilla centre-forward has nine goals for his struggling club this season and was a hero for the Atlas Lions at the World Cup in Qatar, netting two goals including the winner against Portugal in the quarter-finals. He warmed up for the AFCON by bagging a brace in a friendly against Sierra Leone this week, which augurs well for the tournament.
