Sithembinkosi L Jiyane
Sports Reporter
The 2026 Africa Cup of Nations group stage gave us drama, magic, and unforgettable moments. The Confederation of African Football (CAF)\u2019s Best XI shows exactly who controlled the pitch, from solid defending to brilliant attacks.
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\u200eAt the gate, Mohamed El Shenawy was a brick wall for Egypt, stopping close-range shots and organizing his defense. His presence made his teammates confident to push forward.
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\u200eIn defense, Abdi and Edmond Tapsoba were rock-solid in the center, reading the game perfectly and stopping danger early. On the wings, Axel Tuanzebe and Noussair Mazraoui ran up and down the flanks, sending perfect crosses and winning tough tackles.
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\u200eIn midfield, it was all about creativity and control. Carlos Baleba set the tempo with precise passes. Ademola Lookman caused problems for defenders with his dribbles and clever runs, while Brahim D\u00edaz directed play, setting up teammates at the gate for scoring chances.
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\u200eUp front, the attack was unstoppable. Sadio Man\u00e9 led with deadly finishing, ghosting past defenders. Amad Diallo used his speed to break defenses and be at the gate for goals, while Riyad Mahrez cut inside and delivered magical passes and shots.
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\u200eCoach Eric Chelle\u2019s tactics brought it all together. His setup balanced solid defense with fluid attacks, turning individual stars into a team that dominated the group stage.
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\u200eThe Confederation of African Football (CAF)\u2019s Best XI isn\u2019t just a list, it shows how African football is evolving: fast, skilled, and fearless. If the group stage was this exciting, the knockout rounds will be even more thrilling.<\/p>\n\n\n\n
Stay Connected with Zim GBC News: Sithembinkosi L JiyaneSports ReporterThe 2026 Africa Cup of Nations group stage gave us drama, magic, and unforgettable moments. The Confederation of African Football (CAF)\u2019s Best XI shows exactly who controlled… <\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":11625,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[9],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-11624","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11624","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=11624"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11624\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":11626,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/11624\/revisions\/11626"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/11625"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=11624"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=11624"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"http:\/\/zimgbcnews.co.zw\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=11624"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}
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