By England-based duo of Leicester City midfielder, Wilfred Onyinyen Ndidi and Watford defender, William Troost-Ekong have both been named alongside FC Nantes’ of France winger, Moses Simon in the official roll call of the best players from the first round of matches at the ongoing Africa Cup of Nations in Cameroon.
In contrast with an initial independent roster that was released on Friday, with Simon as the only Nigerian player on the log, the latest list by Confederation of African Football (CAF) adds the names of Ndidi and Troost-Ekong.
That gives Nigeria three players in the chart, to place joint second with Egypt on the overall collation by CAF, while Cameroon top the lot with five players, led by in-form striker, Vincent Aboubakar, who has already scored five goals in three group matches.
However, megasportsarena.com reports that only Troost-Ekong and Simon are listed in the starting 11, while Ndidi is on the bench as a substitute, alongside Liverpool of England duo, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Senegal’s Sadio Mane.
Cote d’Ivoire left-back Ghislain Konami, Egypt duo Mohamed El Shenawy and Ahmed Hegazy, Achraf Hakimi of Morocco and Sofiane Boufal, also make the best 11, along with Naby Keita of Mali, Yves Bissouma, Musa Barrow of Gambia and Aboubakar of Cameroon.
Details of the list show that Troost-Ekong got the nod after going the distance in every single game contested by the Eagles in the group phase and netted Nigeria’s second goal against Guinea-Bissau.
Simon, was also involved in three matches, from which he got a goal and an assist, after starting two and playing as a sub in one, is named in a strong 4-3-3 formation.
Troost-Ekong features as a center-back and Simon as left winger, but Ndidi is not included in CAF’s first eleven, a he is only found among the substitutes along with Salah and Mane.
The starting lineup includes Ivory Coast left-back Ghislain Konan (Stade de Reims), Egypt duo Mohamed El Shenawy (Al Ahly) and Ahmed Hegazy (Al-Ittihad Jeddah), Morocco right-back Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain) and his teammate Sofiane Boufal (SCO Angers).
Completing the best XI are Naby Keita (Guinea/Liverpool), Yves Bissouma (Mali/Brighton & Hove), Musa Barrow (Gambia/Bologna) and Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon/ Al-Nassr).
AFCON 2021 group stage best 11: El Shenawy; Hakimi, Troost-Ekong, Hegazy, Konan; Keita, Bissouma, Barrow; Boufal, Aboubakar, Simon; substitutes: Andre Onana, Iban Salvador, Ali Maaloul, Abdou Diallo, Ndidi, Massadio Haidara, Karl Toko, Nouhou Tolo, Kanga, Amadou Diawara, Salah, Mane.
Comments