The group stage of AFCON 2025 has now concluded. Teams such as Nigeria, Egypt and Senegal all raced through to the knockout rounds, while the lies of Gabon, Uganda and Botswana have crashed out.
Today, we’ll be highlighting the five best players from this stage of the competition. We’ll only be looking at their performances in the group stage of AFCON 2025 – their past achievements will not be taken into consideration.
For the sake of fairness, we’ll only be including one player per country – if not, this list might be dominated by Morocco players.
Mohamed Salah
Mohamed Salah is a man on a mission. Egypt are the most successful nation in AFCON historically, but they have never won the competition during Salah’s international career.
As such, the Liverpool legend is keen to right this wrong. So far, he has scored two goals in three games at AFCON, one of which was a crucial last-minute winner against Zimbabwe.
Salah certainly isn’t at his brilliant best at the moment, but has shown enough to drag his country through the group stages.
Lyle Foster
Lyle Foster has been largely hit and miss for Burnley since his arrival at Turf Moor, but his contributions for South Africa at AFCON 2025 so far cannot be overstated.
Foster has been lethal for Bafana Bafana, scoring two goals and notching up two assists over the course of their three group games.
If Foster can carry this form into the Premier League when he returns to club football, he could be a force to be reckoned with in England’s top division.
Riyad Mahrez
Riyad Mahrez is a Premier League legend – it’s nice to see him still performing at such a high level, even at the age of 33.
Predictably, he has been Algeria’s star man in the tournament. As things stand, Mahrez has three goals to his name, despite featuring in just two group games.
Mohamed Salah is gunning for Africa’s top prize – but one of his old Manchester City rivals is looking to beat him to the punch this year.
Brahim Diaz
Brahim Diaz has a chance to launch himself into superstardom at AFCON this year. He has been overlooked by Real Madrid for far too long – this is his best chance to show Los Blancos what they’ve been missing out on.
So far, Diaz has taken the opportunity with both hands. Like Mahrez, he also has three goals to his name at this stage in the competition. Compare this to his La Liga form, where he has yet to score a goal this season – it is night and day.
Morocco remain the clear favourites to win AFCON 2025 – with Diaz in this sort of form, it isn’t difficult to see why.
Ademola Lookman
Ademola Lookman is a true superstar – he has been untouchable over his last few games for Nigeria, boosting them to the knockout rounds with ease.
So far, he has scored two goals and has notched up a pair of assists along the way. A former Premier League ace at clubs such as Everton and Fulham, he is now entering his prime years.
Nigeria have one of the most fearsome attacking units in the cometition – with Lookman leading the charge, this could be an excellent year for the Super Eagles.