Mohamed Salah was right when he recently said in an interview that the level of competition in the AFCON has vastly improved over the years, and it’s not difficult to see why.
Equatorial Guinea, Senegal, Angola, and Egypt are likely to qualify for the Round of 16, among others, because they are the main beneficiaries of the emergence of their stars. Meanwhile, there’s still hope for Ghana despite their poor run of AFCON 2023 results so far because they also have one of their own.
There’s so much to choose from in this tournament, but today at SBOTOP, we will highlight the likes of Emilio Nsue, Lamine Camara, Gelson Dala, Mohammed Kudus, and Mostafa Mohamed.
Learn more about why these five stalwarts deserve to be recognised by continuing to read down below.
Emilio Nsue, Equatorial Guinea
Not everyone would’ve guessed that Emilio Nsue was going to be the tournament’s top scorer midway through the group stage. With five goals (and counting), the 34-year-old striker holds a solo lead in the ongoing Golden Boot race.
After being held scoreless in their 1-1 draw against Nigeria in the opener, Nsue bounced back big in their 4-2 victory over Guinea-Bissau by scoring a hat-trick, and he followed that one up with a brace in their 4-0 drubbing of Ivory Coast earlier today.
Nsue became the first player to score a hat-trick in an AFCON game since Soufiane Alloudi did so for Morocco in their 5-1 rout of Namibia in 2008.
He is the country’s all-time leading scorer with 22 goals in 43 caps, and his goals are the main reason why Equatorial Guinea are surprisingly on top of Group A, over the likes of Nigeria, Ivory Coast, and Guinea-Bissau.
Lamine Camara, Senegal
It looks like Sadio Mane doesn’t need to do the heavy lifting for the defending champions because Senegal have Lamine Camara, who already has two goals in this competition, both of which came in their 3-0 victory over Gambia on Monday.
When Gambia’s Ebou Adams was sent off after being given a straight red card, Lamine Camara took his opportunity by recording a brace in the second half after Pape Gueye had already scored earlier.
Camara’s volley from outside the box in the 86th minute was stunning, to say the least, and we won’t be surprised if this is considered a goal of the tournament contender.
Take note that Camara just turned 20 three weeks ago, and he has already drawn praise from his older peers, even getting compared to Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard.
In club football, he is plying his trade in Ligue 1, and for sure, Metz are liking what they’re seeing from him in the AFCON.
Gelson Dala, Angola
Angola have taken the top spot in Group D after defeating Mauritania 3-2 on Sunday. Gelson Dala was named Man of the Match for the much-needed victory after he struck twice.
Dala deserved the recognition because, other than the two goals, he posted a 73-per cent pass accuracy (11-for-15), three key passes, four shots on target, three accurate long balls, one cross, and one successful dribble in 86 minutes of action.
The Palancas Negras will continue to rely on Dala’s heroics because he is one of their most tenured players, with 18 goals in 38 caps.
Mohammed Kudus, Ghana
Ghana are going to have a hard time qualifying for the next round, according to the AFCON 2023 odds, because they have yet to win a game. However, that shouldn’t discount the fact that Mohammed Kudus has had a great tournament.
The West Ham winger is one of the few to have recorded at least two goals so far in this competition, both of which came in their 2-2 draw against Egypt on Friday.
Despite not scoring in their 2-2 draw against Mozambique earlier today, Kudus was named Man of the Match with yet another classy performance, including winning a penalty for teammate Jordan Ayew.
West Ham United would certainly want to have Kudus back as soon as possible for selfish reasons since he is their second-leading scorer with 10 goals this season.
Mostafa Mohamed, Egypt
Mostafa Mohamed has been one of the Pharaohs’ most important players.
The 26-year-old Nantes striker has scored in all of their group stage matches so far, making him one of the top candidates in the competition’s Golden Boot race. Mohamed has formed a solid partnership with Eintracht Frankfurt’s Omar Marmoush up front, and with Trezeguet providing spark off the bench, Egypt are not to be counted out, even without Mohamed Salah.
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