Football: these African players who will amaze Europe

Yassin Bounou and Édouard Mendy, the last ramparts

In the cages of Sevilla FC since the summer of 2019, Yassine Bounou continues to impress the European scene. Strong link of the Andalusian club, the Moroccan goalkeeper has become the most decisive goalkeeper in La Liga this season, alongside Jan Oblak (Atlético Madrid). The Atlas Lion, trained at Wydad Casablanca, has the best save percentage in the Spanish league and has positioned himself in less than a year as one of the best goalkeepers in Europe. Driven by the performance of Bounou – who has kept his clean sheet in the last seven games played – the Andalusians have won 16 of their last 19 games and remain on a good series of 9 consecutive victories in all competitions. Facing Borussia Dortmund on Wednesday, the Moroccan goalkeeper even has the opportunity to beat Sevilla FC’s ultimate record if he manages to hold 73 more minutes without conceding a goal (781 minutes, established in October 2008).

Across the Channel, another African doorman also managed to get all observers to agree. Imperial on his line and endowed with a formidable vision of the game, Édouard Mendy – who arrived from Stade Rennes in the summer of 2020 – has established himself in England as one of the best goalkeepers in the world. With only two goals conceded in the group stages of the Champions League and twenty-four in the Premier League, the Senegalese goalkeeper signed ten clean sheets this season on its nineteen games played. Exceptional performances which allow Chelsea to assert themselves as the second best defense in the English league and C1.

Ramy Bensebaini, defense in the skin

Absent in the Champions League for the historic qualification of Borussia Mönchengladbach in the round of 16, Ramy Bensebaini will be back in C1 next Wednesday for the reception of Manchester City. Winner of the last African Cup of Nations with Algeria, the former Rennais intends to shine for his first participation in the competition. But the task promises to be difficult for Fennec, facing the second most prolific offensive armada in the Premier League. A challenge that would allow the Algerian defender to shine on the European scene and to change a little more dimension.

Riyad Mahrez and Idrissa Gueye, the men in the middle

Winner of the African Cup of Nations in 2019, Riyad Mahrez is certainly the best African midfielder in the world. The greatest Algerian footballer in history, according to a survey organized by the International Football Federation (Fifa), Fennec is a free electron, a nightmare for defenders with its quality of dribbling, its speed and its ability to make differences . However, since the start of the 2020-2021 season, Riyad Mahrez is no longer an indisputable holder in the workforce of Pep Guardiola, who regularly operates a turnover. And, during the group stage of the Champions League, the Algerian played only three games as a holder. But, if the playing time is insufficient, “his performance is formidable,” reassured his coach last January. Mahrez should therefore have a chance to stand out in C1 and regain some confidence in a troubled year.

Finalist of the last Champions League with Paris Saint-Germain, Senegalese midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye is the other African representative in this position. Former Everton player, who landed in the French capital in the summer of 2019, and the centerpiece of Aliou Cissé’s device with Senegal, Idrissa Guèye should still illuminate Europe this season. Its goal ? To titillate the stars and follow in the footsteps of a certain Sadio Mané who has already tasted the flavors of the cup with big ears.

Salah, Mané and Ziyech, go ahead!

Winner of the Champions League (2019), the UEFA Super Cup (2019) and the Club World Cup (2019), Sadio Mané became in 2020 the first Senegalese to be crowned champion of England. If, this season, the Reds are skating in the Premier League standings, the native of Bambali has already scored thirteen goals and delivered three assists in all competitions. He will of course have to be reckoned with during the knockout stages of the Champions League.

Especially since the Lion of Téranga will obviously be accompanied by the Egyptian Mohamed Salah, second top scorer in Europe this season with 23 goals (behind Robert Lewandowski and his 30 goals). In just over three seasons, the Pharaoh has shattered the records set by the greatest players past Liverpool and he has established himself as an indisputable starter on the offensive side. Associated with Mané and Firmino, the trio should give RB Leipzig a cold sweat on Tuesday.

Finally, revealed at Ajax Amsterdam in 2016, the Moroccan international winger of Chelsea Hakim Ziyech will be keen to recover and marvel at his technical palette in Europe of football. Removed by several physical glitches from Frank Lampard’s list of essentials, the former Ajacide remains a replacement despite the arrival of Thomas Tuchel. Author of a single goal and three assists in eleven Premier League matches, the Atlas Lion is no longer in the scent of sanctity in the English capital. But be careful not to wake up the sleeping lion!

And the C3 in all of this?

In the Europa League, the stars of the African continent should also shine. Defensively, the Senegalese superstar of Naples Kalidou Koulibaly has established himself as one of the best central defenders in the world since his arrival from Genk in 2014. Agile, fast and technically fine, ruthless in duels and imperial in airs, the player trained in Metz distinguishes himself in club as in selection and finds himself today courted by the best European clubs (Liverpool, Manchester United or Paris Saint-Germain).

In the midfield, it is the Algerian and Ivorian internationals Ismaël Bennacer and Franck Kessié who should shine on the European scene. Because the formidable Milanese duo are back, two months after their last appearance. Since Bennacer’s muscle injury in early December, Kessié has been one of the best Rossoneri and has been able to adapt without losing his influence despite the regular changes of partners. With the return of the Fenecs midfielder, Stefano Pioli will find his African wall in front of his defense, the one that filters, who recovers… and who scores!

Up front, the young Burkinabe striker of Ajax Amsterdam Lassina Traoré has revealed himself as the new nugget of the Dutch club. He had particularly amazed the gallery on October 24, when Ajax had pulverized the VVV Venlo on the historic score of 13-0 thanks in particular to his dazzling performance, author of a quintuplet and three assists. Still on the offensive side, Cameroonian striker Jean-Pierre Nsamé should be one of the scorers to be reckoned with in the Europa League. With very high-level statistics (41 goals and 7 assists in 46 games played in all competitions), the Indomitable Lion, great architect of the double achieved by his team, was named in 2021 the best Swiss Super League player for the second consecutive year.

Finally, the Cameroonian imperial goalkeeper of Ajax Amsterdam André Onana could also have appeared on this list. But the Indomitable Lion was suspended at the beginning of February by UEFA for violating anti-doping rules during a test carried out last October. L’Ajacide and his club have appealed against this decision. However, the goalkeeper must for the moment stay away from the grounds for twelve months. The same goes for the Ivorian international of the Dutch club Sébastien Haller. The African striker was mistakenly forgotten in the list of 25 players qualified for the knockout stage forwarded to UEFA. The dumpling!