AFCON 2023: Group Stage Best XI Revealed
After wrapping up the Group Stage of the current Africa Cup of Nations with tons of goals, emotions, drama, and, most importantly, football.
The official CAF (Confederation of African Football) lineup for the Group Stage has been revealed.
Morocco, being the top dog and winning all their matches, dominates the dream team with four players – the nation with the most representatives.
Following closely is Senegal with three players, Equatorial Guinea with two, and Angola and DR Congo each contributing one player.
The dream team features the top scorer of the tournament with five goals, striker Emilio Nsue, and lines up as follows:
Goalkeeper:
- Jesús Owono – Equatorial Guinea – Deportivo Alaves
Defenders:
- Achraf Hakimi – Morocco – PSG
- Kalidou Koulibaly – Senegal – Al-Hilal
- Nayef Aguerd – Morocco – West Ham United
- Arthur Masuaku – DR Congo – Besiktas
Midfielders:
- Azzedine Ounahi – Morocco – Olympique de Marseille
- Sofyan Amrabat – Morocco – Manchester United
- Lamine Camara – Senegal – FC Metz
Forwards:
- Gelson Dala – Angola – Al-Wakrah
- Emilio Nsue – Equatorial Guinea – CF Inter City
- Ismailia Sarr – Senegal – Olympique de Marseille
🇲🇦 X4
🇸🇳 X3
🇬🇶 X2
🇨🇩 X1
🇦🇴 X1Ladies & gentlemen, here your best XI from the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 group stages! 🔝 pic.twitter.com/RDqTmTGZgQ
— CAF_Online (@CAF_Online) January 25, 2024
Allsoccerprediction.com takes a look at some highlights of AFCON 2023 group stage
1. Mauritania qualified for the round of 16 for the first time and Against Algeria, they also obtained their first-ever TotalEnergies CAF AFCON win after 8 matches.
2. This is also the first time that Senegal has made 3 out of 3 in the group stage of the competition. The Lions of Teranga did this with 8 goals scored against 1 conceded.
3. It is the second consecutive TotalEnergies CAF AFCON that Algeria has been eliminated in the group stage without any victory. In 2021, the Fennecs collected 1 point, and in 2023, two points.
4. 3 goals were scored from penalties between Mozambique (1) and Ghana (2), the highest total in a single TotalEnergies CAF African Cup of Nations match.
5. Equatorial Guinean Emilio Nsue finishes the group stage with 5 goals. He is the second player to achieve such a performance at this stage of the competition since the Ivorian legend, Laurent Pokou (7 goals in 1970).
6. Nigeria have reached the knockout stage in each of their last 15 appearances of the competition, the longest in the history of the tournament.
7. Against Equatorial Guinea, Cote d’Ivoire suffered its biggest defeat. The Elephants had never lost a TotalEnergies CAF AFCON match by a margin of 4 goals before.
8. Five coaches left their post at the end of the group stages. Tom Saintfiet (Gambia), Chris Hughton (Ghana), Jalel Kadri (Tunisia), Djamel Belmadi (Algeria) and Jean-Louis Gasset (Cote d’Ivoire)
9. Three matches finished 0-0 in the final round of group matches. Namibia – Mali, Tanzania – DR Congo and Tunisia – South Africa
10. 26 goals were scored in the first round of matches for the group stage, the second round of matches for the group stage saw 38 goals, and 14 goals were scored in the final round of matches for the group stage. A total of 78 goals was scored in the group stage of the competition.
