The 2025 interation of the Africa Cup of Nations is just over a month away. Which Premier League teams will be represented at Africa’s biggest footballing tournament?
Today, we’ll look at five of the best Premier League players who will be playing in AFCON. We’ve included players from teams such as Manchester City, Fulham and Liverpool – can you guess them?
Before we begin, we must mention that some top African players – such as Mohammed Kudus and Antoine Semenyo – will not feature on this list, as they failed to qualify for the competition.
Alex Iwobi
Nigeria’s road to AFCON qualification was not as smooth as they might have liked, but the Super Eagles will nontheless be there – and Fulham star Alex Iwobi will be going with them.
Iwobi has been enjoying a decent season at Craven Cottage so far this season, having scored one goal and notching up two assists over the course of 11 Premier League games.
Despite playing for England at youth level, Iwobi declared for Nigeria back in 2015. He has won 91 caps for his country of birth, scoring 10 goals.
Iliman Ndiaye
Iliman Ndiaye has been an inspired addition to Everton’s attacking ranks. He is a nightmare for any defender to take on – not only is his ball control excellent, he is also a very calm and composed finisher.
He excels at unsettling defenders with his intelligent movement and magnetic dribbling ability. So far this season, the Senegalese international has scored four goals in 11 Premier League games.
At just 25 years of age, the best is still yet to come from the Toffees ace. He has won 32 caps for Senegal thus far, scoring three goals.
Rayan Ait-Nouri
Rayan Ait-Nouri has had a difficult start to life at Manchester City, mainly due to injuries and the level of competition of the club. However, he is still one of the most important players in Algeria’s setup.
His excellent displays for Wolves last season should not be so easily forgotten. Despite playing in a team that spent most of the season around the relegation zone, he was still commended as one of the best left-backs in the division during the 2024/25 campaign.
Ait-Nouri made his debut for Algeria back in 2023 – since then, the 24 year old has made 19 appearances for his country.
Bryan Mbeumo
Bryan Mbeumo has been an inspired signing for Manchester United. Quickly establishing himself as their main attacking threat, they will miss him when he leaves to club to join his Cameroonian teammates.
He has many strings to his bow. Mbeumo is a skilful player who is comfortable running at defenders and taking them on and he is also talented set-piece taker – he will likely be the Indomitable Lions’ key player at AFCON 2025.
He has passed over by France for international selection and instead opted to represent Cameroon, as his father is Cameroonian. Could Les Bleus come to regret this in the future?
Mohamed Salah
This season hasn’t been Mohamed Salah’s best, but he still remains as the best African player in the Premier League – and maybe the greatest African footballer of all time.
Despite having a relatively slow campaign, he has still scored four goals and has notched up two assists. By his standards, these are low numbers – but that should just tell you how brilliant Salah is when he is playing at the peak of his powers.
Egypt have won AFCON more times than any other nation, but Salah has yet to add to the AFCON trophy to his illustrious cabinet. Will he finally get his hands on the coveted prize in 2026?