AFRICAN PLAYERS VOTE FOR THE BEST 11
Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are among the players selected in the first Africa Best 11, elected by more than 500 players from national teams.
The Africa Best 11 was organized by Fifpro and announced during the African Football Confederation (CAF) awards in Dakar, Senegal.
A total of 503 national team players from 26 African countries selected a team of 1 goaltender, 4 defencemen, 3 midfielders and 3 forwards based on their 2018 performances.
The Africa Best 11 is composed of:
Player (country, team)
Guardian:
Denis Masinde Onyango (Uganda, Mamelodi Sundowns)
Defenders:
Kalidou Koulibaly (Senegal, Napoli)
Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast, Tottenham Hotspur)
Medhi Benatia (Morocco, Juventus)
Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast, Manchester United)
Medium of the field:
Riyadh Mahrez (Algeria, Manchester City)
Naby Keita (Guinea, Liverpool)
Thomas Partey (Ghana, Atlético Madrid)
Attackers:
Mohamed Salah (Egypt, Liverpool)
Sadio Mané (Senegal, Liverpool)
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon, Arsenal)
The Africa Best 11 is part of a new cooperation agreement between Fifpro and the CAF. The votes were collected across the continent while the players were on their national team.
«It was an incredible challenge,» explained Geremi, the former player of Real Madrid and Chelsea, currently a member of the Fifpro Steering Committee. “We did this brilliantly thanks to the enthusiasm, professionalism and shared commitment of federations and our members, committed to presenting our continent’s footballers and football in a fabulous way.”
The president of the CAF, Ahmad Ahmad, said: African football can be proud of this team and its eleven players. It gives a perfect picture of the reality of our football, its strengths and the quality of our players.”
Goaltender Denis Masinde Onyango is the only player playing for an African club, Mamelodi Sundowns in South Africa. Seven players play in England’s Premier League clubs and two in the Italian Serie A.
