Emilio Nsue and Lamine Camara were the headline names of the AFCON 2023 best eleven of the group stage unveiled by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).
Nsue was the star of the group stage with his five goals including a hat-trick against Guinea-Bissau ensuring the National Thunder made it to the knockout phase for the fourth time.
Camara, who is the reigning African Young Player of the Year, scored a brace in the Teranga Lions’ opener against neighbours the Gambia and went on to finish with a 100% record in what was considered the ‘Group of Death’.
Other players in attack include Angola’s Gelson Dala and Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr and joining Camara in midfield are the Moroccan duo of Sofyan Amrabat and Azzedine Ounahi.
Two Moroccans in Achraf Hakimi and Nayef Aguerd make up the four-man defence along with Senegal’s Kalidou Koulibaly and DR Congo’s Arthur Masuaku.
Equatorial Guinea’s Jesus Owono completes the best 11 as the goalkeeper.
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???????? X1Ladies & gentlemen, here your best XI from the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2023 group stages! ???? pic.twitter.com/RDqTmTGZgQ
— CAF (@CAF_Online) January 25, 2024
Fans will now gear up for the knockout phase which begins with round of 16 ties between neighbours Angola and Namibia as well as fierce rivals Nigeria and Cameroon on Saturday.
Complete AFCON 2023 Group Stage XI
Goalkeeper: Jesus Owono (Equatorial Guinea)
Defenders: Achraf Hakimi (Morocco), Nayef Aguerd (Morocco), Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal), Arthur Masuaku (DR Congo)
Midfielders: Lamine Camara (Senegal), Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco), Azzedine Ounahi (Morocco)
Attackers: Ismaila Sarr (Senegal), Emilio Nsue (Equatorial Guinea), Gelson Dala (Angola)
