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Ed Dove
The Africa Cup of Nations brings together Africa’s biggest names of today as well as the superstars of tomorrow, with many of the continent’s brightest young talents set to feature at the 2025 showpiece.
With the tournament almost upon us, ESPN’s Ed Dove runs the rule over 10 wonderkids who have the potential to take the competition by storm.
1. Ibrahim Mbaye: Senegal/Paris Saint-Germain
With the likes of Sadio Mané, Nicolas Jackson, Iliman Ndiaye, Ismaïla Sarr and others, Senegal have no shortage of fearsome attacking quality, but in 17-year-old Mbaye, they have a player who has the potential to be the most exciting of the lot.
He already has two caps for the national side, and should be afforded some minutes at the AFCON, having already started for PSG in their Champions League victory over Barcelona in October.
He’s already written his name in history as the Teranga Lions’ youngest ever scorer — netting in the 8-0 rout of Kenya last month — and his exhilarating dribbling, pace and devastating impact when cutting inside have drawn predictable parallels with his predecessor at PSG, Kylian Mbappé.
While many of the Morocco team who are favourites to win the title on home soil may be familiar to casual viewers following their run to the World Cup semifinal in 2022, that squad has been bolstered by ambitious, talented youngsters who give Walid Regragui immense strength in depth.
21-year-old El Khannouss, currently on the books of VfB Stuttgart — on loan from Leicester City — might be the pick of the bunch.
Only three players in the Bundesliga are averaging more key passes per game than the Moroccan so far this season, while he’s also had a hand in six goals in 12 outings since moving to Germany.
A former Belgium youth international, watch out for El Khannouss’s vision, fantastic ball control, passing ability and capacity to get out of a tight spot.
Another emerging talent coming through with the Atlas Lions is Ben Seghir, who was raised in France and represented the land of his birth up to U-19 level, before switching to Morocco.
He was part of the squad that clinched bronze at last year’s Olympic Games, and after coming through the ranks at AS Monaco, secured a move to Bayer Leverkusen earlier this year for an initial €30 million.
Unlike El Khannouss, he’s struggling to make his mark in Germany, and suggestions that he would be in line to replace the departed Florian Wirtz now appear wide of the mark. However, Ben Seghir’s bravery, acceleration and eye for a pass should ensure that he’s a success eventually, either at Leverkusen or elsewhere.
“The quality he has compared to many other players is that he is impactful,” Regragui told journalists. “He always plays forward and is fearless. Players like that are rare.”
4. Yan Diomande: Ivory Coast/RB Leipzig
Sticking with Germany, Diomande has been a revelation since signing for RB Leipzig during the offseason, taking immediately to life in the Bundesliga and could now be following in the footsteps of Dominik Dzoboszlai, Josko Gvardiol or Timo Werner by using the Saxony heavyweights as a springboard for greater things.
His form has reportedly prompted interest from the Premier League, with the likes of Chelsea, Liverpool and Manchester City among those understood to be monitoring his development, with Diomande having a hand in eight goals in 14 league outings before leaving for the AFCON.
No one in the division is averaging more successful dribbles per game (three) than the 19-year-old so far, and he could prove devastating down the Ivory Coast’s left flank at the Nations Cup.
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Another young talent who’s currently part of the Red Bull structure, Diakite is plying his trade for Lausanne-Sport in the Swiss top flight, on loan from Red Bull Salzburg.
He’s one of the new faces introduced to the Mali squad by head coach Tom Saintfiet over the last 15 months, and should help ensure the Eagles carry a cutting edge at the Nations Cup.
20-year-old ‘Diaki’ has caught the eye in the UEFA Conference League this season – with two goals in five games, including a stunner against Malta’s Hamrun Spartans in late October — while also registering four goals in the Swiss top flight so far.
Diakite’s attitude, positivity, unpredictability and dribbling ability have made him a popular figure with Lausanne fans, although without a goal in a 11 games, he doesn’t approach the AFCON in the best form.
6. Noah Sadiki: DR Congo/Sunderland
A revelation at Sunderland during the early part of the Premier League season, having moved to the Black Cats from Belgian football in the offseason, few expected the youngster to establish himself so quickly in England.
However, the 21-year-old has been one of the key reasons why Sunderland have enjoyed such an excellent start to the season — they currently sit eighth — with his tireless, committed displays making him a favourite among supporters.
Only two players in the division have covered more ground than the youngster, whose heart-on-his-sleeve displays have led to reported interest from Chelsea and Manchester United among others.
7. Tylon Smith: South Africa/Queens Park Rangers
Included in the Bafana Bafana squad following an outstanding showing in the FIFA U-20 World Cup earlier this year, Smith used that tournament to showcase the defensive fundamentals, elegancy, composure and vision in possession that make him such an exciting young prospect.
He was particularly impressive against New Caledonia, registering a 96-percent pass-success rate and succeeding with all 12 of his attempted long balls.
Tougher tests await, of course, and while Smith was a cut above during South Africa’s successful U-20 AFCON campaign this year — where he was named Player of the Tournament — the senior Nations Cup remains a different challenge altogether.
The 20-year-old, whose playing style is reminiscent of Rivaldo Coetzee, made his international debut earlier this year, and he looks to be a long-term (or potentially, short-term) answer to Bafana’s problem centreback position.
The 2024 CAF Young Player of the Year, Camara looks well on course to realise his potential with some strong displays with AS Monaco this season, having already enjoyed a fine career to date.
Still only 21, he already has over 30 Senegal caps, has featured in an AFCON already, and has won the U-20 AFCON — where he was named the Player of the Tournament — and the 2022 CHAN.
Capable of operating as a relentless box-to-box operator, or as a more disciplined defensive midfielder, Camara also catches the eye with his dangerous passing and eye-catching set-piece ability.
He’s registered three assists in Ligue 1 this season, and was magnificent as Les Monegasques defeated champions PSG 1-0 last month.
9. Ibrahim Maza: Algeria/Bayer Leverkusen
Another of the Bundesliga players on this list, with the German top flight becoming an ever more promising destination for Africa’s most exciting talents, is Bayer Leverkusen’s Ibrahim Maza, who will represent Algeria at the upcoming continental showpiece.
Maza is somewhat unique in that he was born in Berlin, and was raised in Germany — representing the European nation up to U-20 level — before eventually committing his future to Algeria last year, despite reported interest from Vietnam and France.
He’s the joint-sixth most effective dribbler in the division so far this season, following his €12 million summer move from Hertha Berlin, and the versatile forward’s development should be fascinating over the years to come.
10 Mohau Nkota: South Africa/Al-Ettifaq
When was the last time the South African football community were as excited about an emerging player as they are about 21-year-old Nkota?
Bafana Bafana’s second highest scorer of all time — Shaun Bartlett — believes the wonderkid has the potential to break records with the national side.
“I told [him] that I want him to be the next player to score a brace for Bafana,” he said at Bafana’s AFCON departure event, “and after that, he must come for my record, and then beat Benni [McCarthy’s].
“Two decades have passed, someone should be getting close by now,” he concluded. “With the quality we have now, especially if Mohau stays injury-free and continues getting national-time minutes, he absolutely has a chance to reach, or even pass, our tallies.”
His goalscoring record at Orlando Pirates after coming through didn’t suggest he’d reach such heights, but Nkota has looked a natural at international level, and it will be intriguing to see how leaving the PSL earlier in his career — to join Saudi side Al-Ettifaq – will alter his career trajectory.
