The Elephants of Cote d’Ivoire emerged triumphant against Nigeria’s Super Eagles on Sunday with a final score of 2-1, bringing this year’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) to an end.
From plenty of extraordinary on and off-the-pitch drama and goals galore to fanfare, remarkable upsets and cooling breaks during games due to humidity in Cote d’Ivoire – the tournament has been both crazy and scintillating, from the first whistle on 11 January.
This year’s thrilling AFCON in Cote d’Ivoire shocked many football analysts and fans. The defending champions Senegal, the previous champions Algeria and Cameroon, the champions before that, all faced early exit. Even more surprising, Morocco, Senegal, Ghana, Cameroon and Tunisia – Africa’s five giants at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar – were knocked out. In contrast, the least expected nations Cape Verde, Democratic Republic of Congo, Angola, Equatorial Guinea and Mauritania, wowed the world with their stand-out AFCON campaign.
AFCON, the biggest marketplace for African footballers, is the perfect opportunity for established and emerging players to inflate their transfer chances and increase their market value.
The Africa Report selects five AFCON players who boosted their transfer chances due to their performances in Cote d’Ivoire.
1. Ademola Lookman – Nigeria
Ademola Lookman, 26, is one of AFCON’s standout performers with good prospects of a big move after the tournament. Born in London to Nigerian parents, Lookman is a former England under-21 international who switched allegiance to Nigeria in 2022 after an approach from Super Eagles former German coach, Gernot Rohr.
Nigeria was in the final thanks to the stellar performances of players like Lookman. His consistent work rate, tenacity and outrageous technical ability to thrive have made him one of the tournament’s most exciting and underrated performers.
In the group opener, Lookman made an assist for striker Victor Osimhen to score Nigeria’s equaliser in a 1-1 draw with Equatorial Guinea and was solid throughout the remaining two games, to send Nigeria to the knockout stages.
Lookman won the hearts and minds of Nigerian fans when he scored both goals for the Super Eagles in their 2-0 win over Cameroon in the round of 16. Even better, he scored Nigeria’s only goal in a 1-0 win over Angola in the quarter-final to reach the semi-final, making him the fourth Nigerian to score at least three goals in the knockout rounds of a single AFCON edition, after Odion Ighalo, Austin Jay-Jay Okocha and the late Rashidi Yekini.
2. Simon Adingra – Cote d’Ivoire
Cote d’Ivoire’s journey to, and victory at the AFCON final was everything but simple. Following a 1-0 defeat to Nigeria in the group stage, the Elephants’ exit from the tournament was sealed after they were thrashed 4-0 by Equatorial Guinea. Well, so everyone thought. However, they came back from the dead to proceed to the knockout stage as one of the four best third-placed teams from the six groups.
They went on to beat Senegal, energising millions of home supporters who were heartbroken just a few days before, and proving naysayers wrong. At the heart of the Elephants’ remarkable comeback was the versatile young maestro, Simon Adingra.
After coming on as a substitute in Cote d’Ivoire’s three previous games following his recovery from hamstring injury, Adingra’s first start was their 1-0 victory over the DRC in the semi-final. He earlier scored a 90th-minute equaliser against Mali in the quarterfinal.
An intelligent winger with the ability to dictate the tempo of games, the quality and range of Adingra’s passing sets him apart. He also knows how to dazzle with the ball at his feet.
3. Arthur Masuaku – DRC
Arthur Masuaku will be most remembered for his wonder goal that stunned football fans and propelled the DRCin to the semis. Masuaku’s goal from a mesmerising free-kick sealed a 3-1 victory against Guinea in the quarter-final before they were knocked out by Cote d’Ivoire in the semis.
One of AFCON’s elements of surprise, the DRC’s Leopards enjoyed a fine campaign in Cote d’Ivoire, producing some fancy footwork and beautiful football in all their fixtures.
A combative defender with a lot of flair and confidence, Masuaku has been a dominant figure in the DRC’s AFCON campaign, with consistently exceptional performances.
4. Lamine Camara – Senegal
Senegalese youngster Lamine Camara was undoubtedly another of AFCON’s most exciting players.
The 20-year-old is a ball-winning box-to-box attacking midfield maestro who was named in Senegal’s Teranga Lions squad – for the first time – after a phenomenal year that saw him win the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) in January with his Senegalese team and the TotalEnergies U20 Africa Cup of Nations a few weeks later. He won the best player award in both tournaments.
Camara made three appearances at AFCON, including Senegal’s opener against The Gambia in which he scored a brace. He went on to impress in Teranga Lion’s 3-1 victory against Cameroon’s Indomitable Lions.
Camara, who plays for French side Metz, is now linked with some top European clubs, including Chelsea and Juventus.
5. Mohammed Kudus – Ghana
Ghana’s early exit didn’t come as a surprise. The Black Stars’ performances at major competitions in recent years haven’t been impressive, and in the lead-up to this year’s AFCON, many of their fans back home didn’t think highly of them.
Despite their lacklustre performance in Cote d’Ivoire – for which some of their players including Andre Ayew made public apologies to Ghanaians – some of the individual efforts didn’t go unnoticed.
Mohammed Kudus’ genius was arguably one of AFCON’s key highlights, despite Ghana’s first-round exit. Having missed the first match against Cape Verde due to injury, he won two Man of the Match trophies against Mozambique and Egypt and was one of AFCON’s most proficient ball-progressing midfielders.
It was Kudus’ two goals in the Black Stars’ 2-2 draw against Egypt that got the fans talking. His sparkling performance could not deliver victory to the Black Stars, but his pace and command in the midfield will stay in the hearts and minds of the fans for a long time.
Understand Africa’s tomorrow… today
We believe that Africa is poorly represented, and badly under-estimated. Beyond the vast opportunity manifest in African markets, we highlight people who make a difference; leaders turning the tide, youth driving change, and an indefatigable business community. That is what we believe will change the continent, and that is what we report on. With hard-hitting investigations, innovative analysis and deep dives into countries and sectors, The Africa Report delivers the insight you need.