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Rabat – The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has officially revealed its Best XI of the group stage at the ACFON 2025, just one day before the start of the knockout phase.
Morocco, the host nation, has two of its star players from the Atlas Lions squad picked in this elite lineup. Noussair Mazraoui was a total standout at right-back, really impressing everyone with his performance. Meanwhile, Brahim DÃaz was easily one of the most exciting attacking midfielders in the entire tournament.
Diaz finished the group stage as joint top scorer with his Moroccan teammate Ayoub El Kaabi and Algeria’s Riyad Mahrez. All three players recorded three goals during the group phase.
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Additionally, Brahim DÃaz just achieved an incredible feat – he matched a Moroccan football record that’s been around for 49 years: he scored in three AFCON group stage games in a row. The last person to do that was a true Moroccan legend named Ahmed Faras, way back between the 1972 and 1976 tournaments.Â
Holding things down in goal is Egypt’s goalkeeper, Mohamed El Shenawy. The center of the defense is solid, with Axel Tuanzebe from the DR Congo and Edmond Tapsoba from Burkina Faso paired up. Rounding out the back line is Tunisia’s Ali Abdi, playing at left-back.
In the midfield, Carlos Baleba from Cameroon got the nod for a defensive spot. CAF placed Nigeria’s Ademola Lookman on the left side of the midfield lineup.
Up front, the attacking force is stacked: Riyad Mahrez from Algeria is on the right, Sadio Mané from Senegal is on the left, and Amad Diallo from Cote d’Ivoire is leading the line as the central forward.
The coaching role for this star-studded XI was handed to Nigeria head coach Eric Chelle, whose team delivered one of the most consistent group-stage performances of the tournament.
Read also: Morocco Edition Breaks AFCON Record with Five Arab Nations in Last 16
