The jewels of the Africa Cup: characteristics and technical contributions

The 33rd edition of the Africa Cup is already underway. The flagship trophy of the African continent arrives right in the middle of the regular season. As a consequence, many players arrive in optimal form and with high self-esteem, wanting to show what they are capable of defending the flag of their country.

Therefore, from MBP School of Coaches we are going to highlight the players who should have a more relevant role during the course of the tournament, analyzing their individual characteristics, and seeing what they can contribute to their national team.

TACTICAL ANALYSIS

Mohammed Salah

If there is a player that stands out above the rest, that is the Egyptian Mohamed Salah. The current Liverpool player is one of the most important players on the world scene. At 29 years old, Salah arrives at the peak of his career, having so far achieved a total of 16 goals and 6 assists for his club this season.

The Egyptian is an unbalanced footballer profile, with a great dribbling ability in 1vs1 situations, and a brilliant finish in front of goal. In addition to his undoubted technical qualities, the player is showing an impressive cognitive capacity with respect to the different requirements that the game demands of him.

Salah has a greater facility to identify the defensive imbalances of the rival. This factor allows him to apply different individual fundamentals, such as "discovering himself in depth towards the interior space in front of a defensive imbalance", or "attacking the most effective spaces for the shot", thus becoming a fearsome player in defense-attack transition situations when the opponent is defensively disorganized.

But which Mohamed Salah will we see during the Africa Cup of Nations? Although in Liverpool he is the main offensive weapon, the role that 'Mo' will have in the national team will be much more relevant.

Las joyas de la Copa África: características y aportaciones técnicas

Salah will not only be the main goalscoring reference, but he will also be required to charge the team behind his back, generating play in construction zones, and assisting his teammates.

Sadio Mane

The next footballer on the list could not be other than Sadio Mané. The Senegalese, like his Egyptian teammate from Liverpool, is called to be one of the important players of the tournament. However, unlike Salah, Mané is not going through a good moment in terms of confidence in his game.

Mané is a very complete footballer in the different structures that make up the individual, however, he is not as decisive as Mohamed Salah. Likewise, the "red" player stands out for his great physical capacity that allows him to help his team, not only in the offensive phase, but also in the defensive phase.

In addition, another aspect to highlight of the Senegalese player is his associative capacity with the group. Mané has a great interpretation of the game, allowing him to have a great impact both in the moments of construction and completion.

This aspect allows us to glimpse the role, also number 10, within the group. Like the Egyptian, we will see a Mané with playmaker functions, not only being decisive in the final meters, but also in the different moments of the game's construction.

Riyadh Mahrez

Like the other two footballers, the following player comes from a Premier League team. The current Africa Cup champion, Riyad Mahrez, is one of those footballers called to delight fans through his individual performances.

The Manchester City player is going through a fantastic moment of form. Mahrez has ceased to be just the typical unbalancing winger with a good last pass, as he has become a total player under Josep Guardiola's mandate.

The Algerian winger is capable of finding different solutions to the problems posed by the rival, not only at an individual level, but also at a collective level. One aspect that stands out above the rest is his ability to apply the universal principle of "passing with advantage."

Mahrez has highly developed peripheral vision for him. This aspect, together with his cognitive capacity, allows him to be able to identify any situation of advantage on the part of his teammates inside the area, and thus be able to feed them with dangerous balls.

Therefore, unlike the other two players, the Algerian's role within his team will be much more specific. Mahrez will be in charge of organizing the offensive phase of his team, not only in the final meters, but also at the beginning of the game.

Archaf Hakimi

Finally, Archaf Hamiki is the last player we want to highlight. PSG's current right-back is not as offensive a player profile as the previous three. However, his ability to influence the different phases of the game will prove vital for Morocco.

The Moroccan is a lateral profile with a very offensive vocation. Thanks to this, Hakimi is able to turn the game towards his sector of the field, not only becoming the owner and lord of the right lane, but also having a very important role in the generation of the game.

Another aspect to highlight about the footballer is his movement speed, in addition to his reactive capacity. Both aspects allow him to play a crucial role in both transitions, be it offensive or defensive.

For all these reasons, as we have mentioned before, the role that he will have within his selection will be reflected in the different phases that make up the game. Not only being relevant in the offensive phase, whether in organized attack or in transition, but also in defensive facets.

CONCLUSION

Without a doubt, we find ourselves with one of the best editions of the African Cup at an individual level. In addition to the four players mentioned during the article, the championship will be packed with other players who will see participating in the tournament as an opportunity to show themselves to the world.