There is always a legion of Ligue 1 stars at the Africa Cup of Nations. We pick out five players plying their trade in France to watch as this year’s tournament gets underway in Cameroon on Sunday.
Karl Toko-Ekambi (Olympique Lyonnais and Cameroon)
The 29-year-old Lyon forward will be one of the key players for hosts Cameroon as the Indomitable Lions bid to win the trophy for the sixth time. Toko-Ekambi heads to the tournament as Lyon’s leading scorer with 11 goals in all competitions, including six in the UEFA Europa League, so his club will certainly miss him as they look to climb the table in the new year.
However, Toko-Ekambi will have a crucial role to play if Cameroon are to win the trophy for the second time in three editions - he featured in the squad that won the title in Gabon in 2017 although he didn’t feature in the semi-final or the final victory against Egypt.
Toko-Ekambi was born and brought up in Paris where he started playing for Paris FC, but he comes from a Cameroonian family and made his international debut for them in 2015 when playing for FC Sochaux-Montbéliard.
>> PLAYER PROFILE: Karl Toko-Ekambi
Mohamed Bayo (Clermont Foot 63 and Guinea)
This 23-year-old striker has been one of the breakout stars of the Ligue 1 Uber Eats season, netting nine goals for newly-promoted Clermont. Indeed Bayo has scored almost half of their 20-goal tally in the league and it goes without saying that his club will miss him enormously as he heads off to the AFCON, as Clermont battle to avoid an immediate return to the second tier.
Bayo, who was born and brought up in Clermont-Ferrand, was the top scorer in Ligue 2 last season with 22 goals and was linked with a move to Girondins de Bordeaux at the start of this campaign before opting to stay put at the Stade Gabriel-Montpied.
He was raised by a single mother who came to France from Guinea and so Bayo opted to represent the west African nation, making his debut for them last March. Guinea, known as the Syli Nationale, will hope to qualify from a group also containing Senegal, Zimbabwe and Malawi.
>> PLAYER PROFILE: Mohamed Bayo
Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco)
The flying 23-year-old right-back has three goals in 25 appearances for PSG since signing from Italian champions Inter last July for a reported €60 million. The capital club will miss him as he joins up with the Morocco squad, who are among the contenders to go all the way in Cameroon.
Hakimi, who has already played for and won silverware with some of Europe’s biggest clubs in Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Inter, was born in Madrid and brought up in the suburbs of the Spanish capital. However, he hails from a Moroccan family and made his international debut for them as a teenager. He scored on his competitive debut for the Atlas Lions as an 18-year-old in September 2017 and is very proud to represent the north African nation. They will come up against Ghana, Gabon and debutants Comoros in their AFCON group.
>> PLAYER PROFILE: Achraf Hakimi
Idrissa Gana Gueye (Paris Saint-Germain and Senegal)
Senegal are Africa’s best team according to the FIFA rankings and are dreaming of going all the way to win the Cup of Nations for the first time after losing the 2019 final to Algeria. Gueye played in that game before joining PSG later the same month from Everton. The former LOSC Lille midfielder’s importance to his current club cannot be underestimated - he has netted four times in 20 games this season, despite a positive Covid test marring the start of his campaign.
Gueye, 32, moved to France to join Lille as a teenager having emerged at the Diambars academy in Saly, which also produced current Olympique de Marseille prospect Bamba Dieng. Gueye, who was born in Dakar, made his international debut more than a decade ago now and will be appearing at his fourth Cup of Nations.
>> PLAYER PROFILE: Idrissa Gana Gueye
Wahbi Khazri (AS Saint-Etienne and Tunisia)
Sitting rock-bottom of Ligue 1, Saint-Etienne will greatly miss Khazri and will therefore be hoping their leading scorer does not go all the way with Tunisia, with the final not until February 6. However Tunisia are contenders to go far and that is in large part thanks to the presence of the 30-year-old forward.
Khazri, who has scored seven times this season for his club, will be featuring at his fifth Cup of Nations. Last time out, in Egypt in 2019, he helped the Eagles of Carthage reach the semi-finals before they lost in extra time to Senegal.
Born and brought up in Corsica, Khazri was capped by France at Under-21 level in 2012 before opting to represent the country of his parents. He made his debut for them in 2013 and has gone on to win 65 caps, playing at the 2018 World Cup when he scored in group games against Belgium and Panama.
>> PLAYER PROFILE: Wahbi Khazri
