Glory for Mane, but how did the rest of Premier League players fare at the Africa Cup of Nations?

Planet Sport writer
7 February 2022

Find out where all the Premier League players’ AFCON challenge came to an end with our easy to follow guide.

The Premier League had plenty of runners in the 33rd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Of the 33 involved, eight still remained at the final hurdle and it was Sadio Mane who won the battle of the Liverpool forwards as Senegal finally got their noses in front of Mohamed Salah's Egypt thanks to penalties.

But how did the rest of the Premier League players fare? Planet Sport looks back on the race for AFCON glory to see how fell early on and who made the winner's enclosure.

Fell at the group stage

Arsenal's Thomas Partey set up two of Ghana's three goals in their shock group-stage exit.

He was joined in the Ghana side by Leicester defender Daniel Amartey, Palace forward Jordan Ayew and Baba Rahman, the full-back on loan from Chelsea to Reading

Manchester City's Riyad Mahrez and West Ham's Said Benrahma also fell at the first hurdle with Algeria.

Fell in the last 16

Arsenal's Nicolas Pepe scored two goals and made another in four Ivory Coast appearances.

Manchester United's Eric Bailly played three games for the Ivory Coast and contributed to two clean sheets - though his shootout miss against Egypt was costly.

Les Elephants also gave playing time to Palace winger Wilfried Zaha, who set up Sebastien Haller's opener against Sierra Leone, and Burnley's Maxwel Cornet, while Brighton and Southampton wingers Yves Bissouma and Moussa Djenepo exited at the same last-16 stage with Mali.

Liverpool midfielder Naby Keita scored in Guinea's group-stage loss to Zimbabwe, one of his three appearances in Cameroon. A 1-0 defeat to tournament debutants Gambia spelled the end for Guinea.

William Troost-Ekong had an impressive tournament. The Nigeria defender scored against Guinea-Bissau and was involved in two clean sheets. Everton winger Alex Iwobi played in all four of the Super Eagles' games, with a brief cameo for Brentford's Frank Onyeka.

Leicester midfielder Wilfred Ndidi contributed to Nigeria's solid defensive record, while Kelechi Iheanacho scored against Egypt and added an assist. However, his only contribution to their 1-0 defeat to Tunisia in the last 16 was a yellow card.

Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang did not feature for Gabon, effectively pulling up for health reasons and then joining Barcelona on a free transfer.

Fell in the last eight

Manchester United youngster Hannibal Mejbri amassed 67 minutes in two group stage games for Tunisia and didn't feature in their quarter-final loss to Burkina Faso.

Omar Rekik, a member of Arsenal's under-23 squad, was also used sparingly, playing just ten minutes across two substitute appearances for the Eagles of Carthage.

Watford's Adam Masina and Imran Louza helped Morocco to the last eight, with Wolves defender Romain Saiss also part of a run that ended at the hands of Egypt.

Fourth

Aston Villa's Bertrand Traore contributed a goal and two assists as Burkina Faso reached the semi-finals where they lost 3-1 to Senegal. They were then run out of third thanks to a penalty shootout defeat to Cameroon.

Second

Mohamed Salah and Egypt reach the AFCON final

Mo Salah was an ever-present for Egypt and while they scored only four goals as a team in 12 hours of football, he got two of those and set up another as well as scoring in the shoot-out win over the Ivory Coast. Aston Villa's Trezeguet played in all of Egypt's games, albeit with only one start.

Arsenal's Mohamed Elneny was a key part of Egypt's run to the final, helping them to five clean sheets out of seven.

First

Sadio Mane played all of Senegal's campaign, bar 20 minutes after he at first controversially played on with a head injury against Cape Verde.

He scored in that last-16 tie as well as against Burkina Faso in the semi-final and Zimbabwe in Group B, adding two assists in a starring role. His penalty miss in the final sent the game to a shoot-out but he redeemed himself with the winning spot-kick.

Watford's Ismaila Sarr made his only start in the final having scored as a substitute against Equatorial Guinea and set up Mane against Burkina Faso.

Senegal's solid defensive effort was built on a Premier League foundation, Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy keeping three clean sheets in five appearances while Crystal Palace's Cheikhou Kouyate - who scored against Equatorial Guinea - and Leicester's Nampalys Mendy anchored the midfield.