It’s
been
a
long
time
coming
as
well
–
it
was
initially
due
to
take
place
in
June
and
July
2021
but
was
brought
forward
to
January
2021
due
to
concerns
about
the
weather.
It
then
had
to
be
pushed
back
a
year
due
to
the
coronavirus
pandemic.
Of
course,
fans
and
teams
have
had
to
put
up
with
the
usual
posturing
from
those
at
certain
clubs
regarding
the
inconvenience
of
relinquishing
players
in
the
middle
of
the
season,
but
despite
that
there
remains
a
healthy
selection
of
big
names.
Cup
of
Nations
(AFCON)
2021:
Full
schedule,
timing
in
IST,
venues,
teams,
groups
and
telecast
details
In
fact,
given
the
standard
the
likes
of
Mohamed
Salah,
Sadio
Mane,
Riyad
Mahrez
and
Achraf
Hakimi
usually
play
at,
some
might
even
argue
this
is
one
of
the
highest-quality
groups
of
players
to
feature
at
a
single
AFCON.
But
the
beauty
of
every
international
tournament
is
that
there’s
more
to
them
than
the
big
names
–
there
are
plenty
of
promising
younger
players
looking
to
impress
for
a
global
audience.
Kamaldeen
Sulemana,
19,
winger
–
Ghana
Hold
on
to
your
seats!
Kamaldeen
is
sure
to
ramp
up
the
excitement
at
AFCON,
such
is
his
rather
chaotic
approach
to
attacking
–
and
acrobatic
celebration.
The
teenage
winger
is
immensely
tricky
and
agile,
with
his
246
take-on
attempts
in
the
2020-21
Danish
Superliga
nearly
twice
as
many
as
anyone
else
–
to
put
that
into
context,
only
Lionel
Messi
managed
more
(261)
in
the
top
five
leagues.
He’s
carried
that
into
Ligue
1
following
his
move
to
Rennes,
with
his
average
of
one
shot
involvements
from
a
ball
carry
every
43
minutes
being
the
second
best
in
Ligue
1
(min.
900
minutes
played)
after
Kylian
Mbappe
–
that’s
obviously
pretty
good.
Ibrahim
Sangare,
24,
defensive
midfielder
–
Ivory
Coast
While
good
performances
at
AFCON
alone
may
not
be
enough
for
players
to
convince
big
clubs
they’re
worth
a
punt
on,
showing
promise
might
just
get
a
few
more
eyes
on
them.
Sangare
is
definitely
one
of
those
who
could
put
himself
‘in
the
shop
window’.
The
PSV
midfielder
has
a
lot
about
him,
particularly
when
it
comes
to
defending.
In
this
season’s
Eredivisie,
only
three
players
(at
least
500
minutes
played)
have
averaged
more
than
his
3.4
tackles
per
90
minutes,
while
he
ranks
fifth
for
interceptions
frequency
(2.5)
and
third
for
middle-third
recoveries
(5.7).
He’s
also
technically
proficient
and
happy
on
the
ball,
with
only
three
players
attempting
more
passes
(81.1)
on
a
per-90-minute
basis
than
him.
Hannibal
Mejbri,
18,
attacking
midfielder
–
Tunisia
A
former
France
youth
international,
Mejbri
may
have
only
declared
for
Tunisia
in
2021
but
this
will
already
be
his
second
international
tournament.
The
Manchester
United
midfielder
started
all
six
of
Tunisia’s
games
as
they
reached
the
final
of
the
Arab
Cup
in
December,
eventually
losing
to
Algeria
in
the
final.
Hannibal
may
not
feature
quite
as
prominently
in
a
full-strength
squad,
but
the
midfielder
possesses
the
kind
of
off-the-cuff
abilities
that
endear
him
to
fans
–
if
not
opponents.
He
is
known
to
be
targeted
for
fouls
when
playing
for
United’s
second
team,
such
is
his
natural
talent.
Ilaix
Moriba,
18,
central
midfielder
–
Guinea
2021-22
hasn’t
quite
gone
as
Moriba
presumably
thought
it
would.
He
left
Barcelona
after
failing
to
agree
a
new
contract,
despite
having
broken
into
the
first-team
setup
at
Camp
Nou.
The
midfielder
had
shown
exceptional
promise,
particularly
on
the
ball
–
he
averaged
3.2
dribbles
per
90
minutes,
a
total
bettered
by
only
four
team-mates,
and
boasted
a
success
rate
of
89.3
per
cent,
with
only
Miralem
Pjanic
bettering
him.
The
€16million
signing
has
played
just
twice
in
the
Bundesliga
since
the
move
to
Leipzig
and
will
surely
be
relishing
some
competitive
action.
Edmond
Tapsoba,
22,
centre-back
–
Burkina
Faso
If
Burkina
Faso
go
on
to
have
a
good
tournament,
Tapsoba
will
almost
certainly
have
had
something
to
do
with
it.
The
centre-back
is
an
extremely
elegant
player
for
someone
roughly
the
size
of
a
small
building
and
whose
name
sounds
like
a
hipster
bar,
and
at
club
level
he
performs
a
vital
function
in
getting
Leverkusen
on
the
front
foot,
with
his
13.5
progressive
ball
carries
in
the
Bundesliga
this
term
second
only
to
Alphonso
Davies.
If
he
can
translate
that
to
the
international
stage,
Burkina
Faso
will
have
a
real
weapon
in
the
middle
–
even
if
he
doesn’t,
he’ll
still
give
them
aerial
threat
at
set-pieces.
Abdul
Fatawu
Issahaku,
17,
forward
–
Ghana
The
case
of
Issahaku
is
a
rather
intriguing
one.
Transfer
rumours
in
2021
suggested
Liverpool
had
signed
him
for
£1.5million,
but
that
soon
turned
out
to
be
false.
He
remains
in
his
native
Ghana,
but
the
exciting
attacker
has
seemingly
done
enough
to
earn
a
shot
at
international
level
despite
being
just
17
–
he’s
the
second-youngest
player
at
the
tournament.
But
he’s
used
to
that
sort
of
situation.
After
all,
before
he’d
even
turned
17
in
March
he
was
named
Player
of
the
Tournament
at
the
Under-20
Africa
Cup
of
Nations.
While
that
Liverpool
move
never
materialised,
he’s
got
himself
another
opportunity
to
shine.
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