AFCON 2025 has delivered upon its promises. We’ve seen plenty of entertaining games and excellent goals – but who have the tournament’s biggest breakout stars been?
Today, we’ll be looking at five budding superstars who could be given a big-money move following their displays at AFCON. Do you agree with our picks?
Ibrahim Maza
Ibrahim Maza represents Algeria on the international stage, despite being born in Germany and playing for Germany’s youth teams – the Desert Warriors will be very happy that he opted to represent them.
He has been on fire at AFCON 2025 – so far, Maza has scored two goals and has notched up a single assist over the course of four games.
At just 20 years of age, the sky is the limit for this young man. He currently plays for Bayer Leverkusen, but he could get a move to one of Europe’s biggest hitters if he can carry his AFCON form back into club football.
Geny Catamo
Mozambique entered the tournament as dark horses – they’ve now been eliminated at the hands of Nigeria, but they can take plenty of positives home with them.
Geny Catamo was their star of the show, scoring twice and picking up an assist during their four games at AFCON.
Catamo plays for Sporting CP in Portugal at the moment. At 24 years of, the best is yet to come from him – were Ruben Amorim still at Manchester United, he might’ve been a good fit for the Red Devils.
Arsène Kouassi
Like Mozambique, Burkina Faso weren’t given much a chance in this year’s AFCON, so they caused a bit of a stir when they made it to the last 16.
They were eliminated by Ivory Coast, but plenty of their best players got the chance to strut their stuff – Arsene Kouassi was perhaps the best of the bunch.
He hasn’t been quite as prolific at club level for Lorient this season – perhaps a move to a superclub could be what he needs to unlock his true potential?
Lassine Sinayoko
Mali haven’t been as impressive as people might’ve expected this year – they have yet to win a game within 90 minutes, despite being in the last 16. Nevertheless, Lassine Sinayoko has been a bright spark for Les Aigles.
He has been their primary source of goals at AFCON this year, finding the back of the net on three occasions over the course of four games.
Sinayoko has scored six goals in 16 Ligue 1 games this season for AJ Auxerre. His current contract is due to expire at the end of the season – he could be an excellent free transfer for anyone keeping an eye on him.
Akor Adams
Akor Adams has been a star at AFCON. He has shown plenty of facets to his game – not only is he a strong goalscorer, he can also create chances.
He has kept pace with the world-renowned Victor Osimhen, scoring a single goal and notching up a pair of assists at the tournament.
Adams has sadly been forced to leave the Nigeria squad on a temporary basis due to his mother’s hospitalisation – our thoughts are with him and his family at this time.