Africa’s Team of the Year without Sadio Mané and Koulibaly!

Over the course of 2023, a number of African stars have set the world alight with some outstanding performances. Although there were a number of disappointments, some African footballers came out on top. On the eve of the new year 2024, Afrique Sports takes stock and concocts its best African team of the year 2023.

Africa is a continent brimming with talent. From George Weah and Mohamed Salah to Samuel Eto’o and Didier Drogba, the continent has always produced exceptional players in every generation. Today, Sadio Mané, Mohamed Salah, Riyad Mahrez, Aubameyang and Victor Osimhen have been making Africa happy for several years.

In 2022, Sadio Mane came within a whisker of matching George Weah’s remarkable achievement with the Ballon d’Or. But Karim Benzema’s zany season prevented the Bambali native from adding his name to the France Football Ballon d’Or list. In the Premier League, Mohamed Salah has smashed almost every record and has been among the league’s top scorers since joining Liverpool in 2017.

African Team of the Year, Sadio Mané and Koulibaly absent

It’s very rare to put together an African team of the year without Sadio Mané and Kalidou Koulibaly, two Senegalese stars who are clearly the best in their positions. But in 2023, neither of them performed well. Sadio Mané’s decision to leave Liverpool was certainly the wrong one. At Bayern, the two-time African golden ball winner was a shadow of his former self. His arrival coincided with the departure of Robert Lewandowski, and his various coaches exposed him to an unusual position.

Sadio Mané was constantly on the sidelines and struggling to improve his stats. Better still, he suffered a serious injury and missed the World Cup and much of 2023. Now back in action, things are no longer the same and Thomas Tuchel has relegated him to the bench. Sadio Mané accumulated frustration and physically attacked Leroy Sane, an episode that precipitated his departure for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia. In 2023, despite his poor performance, the former Bavarian lifted two major trophies: the Bundesliga and the Arab Club Cup.

For his part, Kalidou Koulibaly has decided to leave Napoli after several years of loyal service. The Senegalese rock defender is moving to London, but if he had to turn back the clock, Koulibaly would no doubt have refused to join Chelsea. At the Blues, the former FC Metz defender struggled to integrate and this coincided with the change of management at Chelsea that affected the team’s overall performance. Koulibaly eventually lost his starting berth and Chelsea sank and finished the season without European Cup qualification. For his part, Koulibaly left for Al Hilal in Saudi Arabia. Logically, these two African stars do not feature in Afrique Sports’ African Team of the Year.

Onana preferred to Bounou in Africa’s Team of the Year

After the remarkable World Cup, where Morocco reached the semi-finals, Bounou continued with Sevilla and even helped the Andalusian club win the Europa League again. But André Onana’s year has been impressive.

Freshly arrived at Inter Milan, the Cameroonian goalkeeper established himself as the number 1 and had a remarkable Champions League campaign with the Nerazzurri. Thanks to him, Inter Milan reached the final of Europe’s most prestigious competition. The Cameroonian goalkeeper finished as the best keeper in the Champions League and recently helped Cameroon, who were in great difficulty, to qualify for the 2023 African Cup of Nations with a number of exceptional saves, even if his debut with Manchester United was far from better.

In this year’s African Team of the Year, we have Achraf Hakimi with his compatriot Aguerd, Burkinabe Edmond Tapsoba and Ivorian Kossounou in defence. In midfield, Moroccan Sofyan Amrabat and Zambo Anguissa hold down their places. West Ham’s Mohamed Kudus and Riyad Mahrez share the wings, and up front we have the prolific duo of Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen, the 2023 African Golden Ball winner.

African Team of the Year (Afrique Sports)

Goalkeeper	André Onana (Cameroon)
Defending	Achraf Hakimi (Morocco), Aguerd (Morocco), Edmond Tapsoba (Burkina Faso), Kossounou (Ivory Coast)
Midfield	Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco), Franck Zambo-Anguissa (Cameroon), Mohamed Kudus (Ghana), Riyad Mahrez (Algeria)
Attacker	Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Victor Osimhen (Nigeria)