Top 10 players to watch at the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 in Ivory Coast
Al Jazeera
Which football stars can play a key role in helping their team win the CAF Africa Cup of Nations 2023?
The CAF Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in Ivory Coast when the hosts face Guinea-Bissau on January 13 at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium in Abidjan.
Senegal are the defending champions as they beat Egypt on penalties at the last edition in Cameroon.
Here’s a look at our top 10 players whose performances are likely to be decisive if their side is to lift the trophy on February 11:
The hopes and dreams of a nation rest on one man’s shoulders. If Egypt are to add to their record seven continental titles, then Mohamed Salah will have to bear the brunt of the work for the Pharaohs. Egypt have not won an AFCON title since 2010, and Salah has been left on the losing side in the final in both 2017 and 2021.
This edition of AFCON may not be the 31-year-old’s last, but it will be the last one where Egypt can truly boast that the king is still at the peak of his powers. How many international goals Salah will add to the 53 he has already netted, in only 93 appearances, is likely to be the decisive stat for Egypt’s hopes for erasing the memory of defeat in the final of the last AFCON by Senegal.
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