MANE AND SALAH IN AFRICA BEST XI
The Africa Best XI is working to the same principles as the long-standing FIFA FIFPro World 11. CAF (African football’s governing body) and FIFPRO Africa (FIFPRO’s African player unions) jointly organized the vote and invited African national team players to select the continent’s best team by picking one goalkeeper, four defenders, three midfielders and three attackers.
To set a level playing field for all countries, voting was restricted to senior national squad members. 707 players from 35 countries cast valid votes, including representatives of all of Africa’s leading football nations. The voting slips were collated by a special FIFPRO team.
| Africa Best 11 for 2019 | ||
|---|---|---|
| André Onana | Goalkeeper | (Ajax, Cameroon) |
| Serge Aurier | Defender | (Ivory Coast, Tottenham Hotspur) |
| Achraf Hakimi | Defender | (Borussia Dortmund, Morocco) |
| Kalidou Koulibaly | Defender | (Napoli, Senegal) |
| Joël Matip | Defender | (Liverpool, Cameroon) |
| Idrissa Gana Gueye | Midfielder | (Paris Saint-Germain, Senegal) |
| Riyad Mahrez | Midfielder | (Manchester City, Algeria) |
| Hakim Ziyech | Midfielder | (Ajax, Morocco) |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Forward | (Arsenal, Gabon) |
| Sadio Mané | Forward | (Liverpool, Senegal) |
| Mohamed Salah | Forward | (Liverpool, Egypt) |
CAF and FIFPRO Africa first organized the Africa Best XI in 2018 after signing a partnership agreement on 29 September 2018. One of the priorities of that deal is to enhance the image of African footballers. Both organisations felt it was important to recognise and reward the very best Africa have to offer.
Six players of that inaugural team were chosen on the 2019 team as well: Aubameyang, Aurier, Koulibaly, Mahrez, Mane and Salah.
The 2018 team also included Denis Masinde Onyango, Eric Bailly, Medhi Benatia, Naby Keita and Thomas Partey.