Nabil Bentaleb (Algeria)
Born of Algerian parents in France, the 20-year-old midfielder plays his club football for the English Premiership club Tottenham.
After being haunted by injuries earlier in his career, Bentaleb has gone on to re-establish himself as the first choice in central midfield ahead of seasoned campaigners like Brazil’s Paulinho.
Despite having represented France at under-19 level, he was picked for Algeria at senior level and went on to start in all three their World Cup group games in Brazil.
“When people ask me why I chose Algeria over France I say that when I was younger and France lost I was not crying in front of my TV whereas when Algeria lost, I was crying and getting angry. I chose Algeria because my heart always wanted Algeria,” he was quoted as saying.
The football folklore will tell you the sound of the name Rivaldo is associated with rattling the net, not stopping goals from going in.
Unlike the famous Brazil star Rivaldo, who was a forward, Bafana Bafana’s own Rivaldo is a central defender who plays his club football in the Mother City for Premier Soccer League club Ajax Cape Town.
Coetzee made his first-team debut during the 2013-14 season and never looked back. His sterling performances earned him a national call-up and he went on to make his international debut for Bafana in an Afcon qualifier against Congo on 12 October 2014, making him the youngest player ever to represent the country.
François Kamano (Guinea)
Born in May 1996, Francois Kamano is Guinea’s young striker currently playing his club football for French Ligue 1 club SC Bastia.
The 18-year-old signed a four-year contract with the club after previous trials for AIK, Villarreal CF, and Stade Rennais.
The former Satellite FC player already has two senior national team caps for Guinea and will look to add on to those in the Afcon finals.
The youngster with European top-flight football experience is one of many gems that will look to introduce themselves to Africa and the world in style during the Afcon.
Popularly known as ‘Sate Sate’, the 20-year-old striker plies his trade in the Zambian Premier League with Nkana. In the 2012-13 season he finished as the top scorer in the MTN FAZ Super League with 18 strikes that powered his club to the title in 2013.
He scored Chipolopolo’s solitary goal win their 1-0 win over Cape Verde in November last year to book a spot in the Afcon finals.
He will no doubt be one of Zambia’s trump cards at this year’s Afcon and his good eye for goal makes him an outside contender for the Afcon golden boot.
Born on Christmas Eve in 1995, the Indomitable Lions goalkeeper joined Spain giants Barcelona in 2009 at a tender age of 13.
The move came after the shot-stopper had made a name for himself at the Samuel Eto'o Foundation. He progressed through the Catalan’s youth system and was promoted to the Barcelona B team in Segunda División. In August last year, Ondoa was called up to Cameroon for the matches against DR Congo and Ivory Coast. He then went on to keep a clean sheet on his international debut, in a 2-0 win against DR Congo.
Eric Bertrand Bailly (Ivory Coast)
Simply known as Eric, the 20-year-old central defender plies his trade in the Spanish La Liga with Espanyol were he has earned himself a handful of caps.
Eric joined Espanyol's youth system in December 2011 at the age of 17. He then got a work permit in October 2012 and made his senior debuts in the 2013-14 campaign with the reserves in Segunda Division B.
On 5 October 2014 Eric made his La Liga debut, coming on as a late substitute in a 2-0 home win against Real Sociedad.
He is seen is a future replacement for Kolo Toure, who will be quitting international football after this Afcon. Keep an eye on this future star.
N'Tji Michel Samake (Mali)
The 20-year-old goalkeeper was a surprise inclusion in Mali’s final 23-man squad for the Afcon finals in Equatorial Guinea considering he plays his club football for the country’s local side CS Duguwolofila.
Coach Henryk Kasperczak picked the youngster ahead of French Ligue 1 club Ajaccio goalkeeper Oumar Sissoko, who is much more experienced with no less than 15 senior national team caps for Mali.
Samake is the youngest member of the Mali squad captained by veteran Roma midfielder Seydou Keita.
If given a chance to start in the Afcon he will certainly look to make his mark as Africa and the world watches Africa’s biggest soccer extravaganza.
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