By Kelvin Kirwa
For the first time in history, 24 teams will be participating in the 32nd edition of the Total Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON). The Tournament will be held in Egypt and all the teams have released their 23-man squad list. The biennial competition is said to parade the finest legs in African football but the sad truth is that not all players will get the chance to play in the competition this summer.
Excluded are
1. Sebastian Osigwe (Nigeria) GK: He had indicated a keen interest in playing for Nigeria despite playing for Switzerland’s U-16 and 17. The 24-year-old is born to a Switzerland mother and Nigerian father.
2. Semi Ajayi (Nigeria) RB: One of the new inclusion to Rohr’s Super Eagles set up during the qualifiers and had a spectacular season with English Championship side, Rotherham. He was eventually dropped by the German Manager from the final 23-man squad despite making it to the camp’s final phase.
3. Faouzi Ghoulam (Algeria) LB: He is rated as one of the best left-backs in Africa and Europe. He plies his football trade with Serie A giants Napoli.
4. Djene Dakonam (Togo) CB: Targeted by top European clubs Barcelona and Arsenal, the Getafe defender has improved significantly in recent years especially the just concluded season. Togo’s failure to beat Benin in their last qualifying game, cost him a spot in AFCON.
5. Joël Matip (Cameroon) CB: Current European champions with English Premier League side Liverpool, Matip will not be turning out for his country Cameroon in this year’s competition just as he did in the last one. He passed up the chance to play at AFCON 2017 alongside Eric Choupo-Moting unfortunately for both players the Indomitable Lions won the competition. Unlike Matip, Choupo-Moting is in Clarence Seedorf’s 23-man squad for the AFCON 2019.
6. Geoffrey Kondogbia (Central African Republic) DMF: Kondogbia opted to turn out for the land of his origin the Central African Republic after having represented France in non-competitive fixtures. The Valencia man, however, was unable to help them outmuscle Ivory Coast or Guinea to progress into the tournament.
7. Nabil Bentaleb (Algeria) LMF: He was one of the surprise exclusion for Algeria’s 23-man squad. Alongside Riyad Mahrez, Yacine Brahimi, Bentaleb is one of the most important players for the Desert Foxes but was overlooked by Belmadi.
8. Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria) SS: Nigerian football fans celerated his exclusion from the final 23 squad following a poor season with Leicester City. Although, he made 30 appearances, he only started nine matches and scored just a goal in the 2018/19 premier league season. However, a lot of fans were quick to forget that the former Manchester City forward is one of the best players in the Super Eagles fold. His record with national team shows he is the man who always turn up for the Super Eagles. He has scored 8 goals from 23 appearances in the green-white green jersey despite playing most of the games from the bench.
9. Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon) CF:Aubameyang will be the most high-profile absentee from the Nations Cup which will kick off next week Friday after he was unable to fire Gabon past Burundi in the qualifiers. The Arsenal hitman is arguably Africa’s top striker in the world today, with the former Bundesliga top scorer having netted 22 goals in the Premier League for Gunners last season. He won the golden boot alongside Liverpool’s duo of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane.
10. Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo) CF: Once Africa’s most expensive player and Footballer of the year, Adebayor’s hopes of a final appearance at AFCON with Togo were dashed when they failed to beat Benin in the qualifiers.
The striker is now reportedly considering his international future, having represented the Sparrow Hawks at five previous AFCON tournaments.
11. Gervinho (Cote d’Ivoire) RMF: The former Arsenal forward was dropped from Cote d’Ivoire squad by Ibrahim Kamara as he opted for a clubless Winifred Bony. Gervinho was part of the team that won AFCON in 2015.Despite having a stellar season with Parma in the Serie A, he will not be chanced to fight for his country as they hope to win the competition for the third time in history.
Some players have not made the best 11 list but deserve a mention
•Ogenyi Onazi (Nigeria)MF: Onazi’s chances of representing Nigeria in AFCON was dealt a huge blow after he suffered a serious injury while playing for his club Trabzonspor.
•Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) CF: He scored the late winner that gave Cameroon the trophy in the last competition but the FC Porto striker will be absent from this year’s AFCON due to injury.
•Haris Belkebla (Algeria) MF: He was called up to the Algeria national football team playing the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, but got kicked out of the team by the coach for having shown his buttocks on a live video. On 13th June 2019, Andy Delort was announced as his replacement in the Foxes squad.