Young players to watch out for at Nations Cup

Christian Bassogog then a largely unknown 21 year old, was named as the Best Player at Afcon 2017 after standing out as Cameroon won the title. As the 2019 edition kicks-off tonight in Egypt, we look at similarly young players who could spring a surprise at the tournament.

Nicolas Pépé – Ivory Coast

Could well be in the running for the best of the tournament if Ivory Coast make the latter stages of the tournament.
Pépé has been linked to a number Europe’s top clubs after a stellar season in the French Ligue 1 in which he finished as the second highest goal scorer with 22 goals and conjuring up 11 assits.
The pacy Lille winger now has the chance to live up to all this hype by helping Ivory Coast achieve success in a tournament they are among the favourites to win.The 24-year-old was born in France but chose to represent the country of his parents, luckily for Les Éléphants.

Samuel Chukwueze - Nigeria

Rose to prominence after winning the bronze ball as part of the Nigerian team that won the 2015 FIFA U-17 World Cup leading to interest from Arsenal.
He made his debut for the Nigerian senior team on 20 November 2018 as a starter in a 0–0 friendly draw against Uganda where he tormented Godfrey Walusimbi. The 20-year-old’s best position is on the right side of the pitch, where he can cut inside with his stronger left foot.
He has impressed for La Liga side Villareal scoring and providing an assist in Villarreal’s wild 4-4 draw with Barcelona to finish with five goals in 24 league appearances.

Youssef En-Nesyri - Morocco

The 22 year old has six goals in 21 appearances for the Atlas Lions and played all Group B matches as the North Africans secured a spot at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations.
He also found the back of the net nine times in 31 appearances for Leganes in the Spanish La liga in the past season.
Born in the Moroccan city of Fès, he began his youth career at Académie Mohammed VI before moving to Spanish club Malaga’s youth side in the summer of 2015. He represented Morocco at U-20 and U-23 level before making his senior debut in a 0-0 friendly draw against Albania in August 2016. Drafted in as a late replacement for defender Badr Benoun, he scored with a superb header on his only appearance at the 2018 World Cup in the thrilling 2-2 draw against Spain.

Henry Onyekuru – Nigeria

Onyekuru like Ahmed Musa another forward in the Nigerian team is a tricky wide forward blessed with pace and likes to cut in from the left.
He’s spent the previous two seasons out on loan from Premier League side Everton for whom he has played less matches then the Nigerian national team.
He scored nine goals in 19 league matches for Anderlecht in 2017/18, and 14 in 31 for Galatasaray last season.

Ismaël Bennacer – Algeria

A standout player for Empoli in Serie A last season, the tenacious creative midfielder might not get into the team straight away, but coach Djamel Belmadi would do well to include him sooner rather than later.
The former Arsenal youth has been linked with a move away from Empoli thanks to his recent performances, during which he displayed a range of passing to go with good technique and vision. He’s also adept at winning the ball back from the opposition.

Abdu Lumala - Uganda

Most of the attention will predictably be on Farouk Miya as the Cranes feature in Cairo with the Croatia midfielder very much the go-to-man for the Cranes these days.
But after a trip to Sweden at the prompting of a Daily Monitor story Cranes coach Sebastian Desabre was left convinced there was another Ugandan player who could add creativity and goals to the Cranes.
In came the youngster who left the country at an early age.
Blessed with pace and two footed Lumala who turns out for Swedish second tier side Syrianska on loan from Kalmar FF will add unpredictability to the Cranes attack as they seek to improve on the previous appearance. Ugandan fans got a glimpse of him in action during the 1-0 friendly win against Ivory Coast in Abu Dhabi.