As the 2022 African Cup of Nations begins, the greatest players in the world such as the Egyptian Mohamed Salah or the Senegalese Sadio Mané dream of winning a title with their country and embellish their track record. Above all, they would avoid joining the list of great African players who failed to win the competition. Here are the main ones.
George Weah (Liberia)
The only African Ballon d’Or in history did not rise to the roof of Africa. George Weah had a magnificent club career, notably at PSG and AC Milan, but his selection with his country, Liberia, was not so successful. Despite all his talent, Weah is alone in the Liberian collective.
–
George Weah (left) during CAN 2022. © AFP
However, he managed for the first time to qualify his country for the finals of the CAN in 1996 and 2002. The courses will stop each time in the first round. Already very involved politically, the center forward sometimes loses his energy in fights that go beyond football but still scored 17 goals in 74 caps. After failing to promote his country worldwide through football, he is now trying to do so as president since 2018.
Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast)
Didier Drogba has won everything in club but there will remain one regret about his career: not having won titles with Côte d’Ivoire. The attacker did not go far, however. In 2006 and 2012, he was a finalist in the Africa Cup of Nations but failed twice against Egypt and Zambia.
–
Didier Drogba will always remember his missed penalty in the CAN 2012 final. © AFP
Against the Zambians, he missed a penalty in the second half which must still haunt him as the meeting ended on penalties. Drogba retired internationally in 2014 after 106 caps and 65 goals making him the top scorer in the history of the Elephants. The following year, Côte d’Ivoire won its first CAN. Without Drogba.
Salif Keïta (Mali)
Salif Keita is one of the best players in the history of African football and above all one of the first to have really made an impression in Europe. In his country, the one who comes from a family of eleven children, very early on came out of anonymity by his performances in clubs, especially at Real Bamako. The link was however broken when Keita left the country illegally to go for a test drive in Saint-Etienne where he would later become a legend.
–
Salif Keita (left) and Josip Skoblar, the two top scorers for 1971 in France. © AFP
The first African Ballon d’Or in history was awarded to him in 1970 and allowed him to once again become a symbol. Unfortunately it lacks a title to fully dedicate it. CAN 1972 could have been but Mali failed in the final against Congo-Brazzaville when Keita was injured during the competition.
Mustapha Dahleb (Algeria)
The one who was elected Fennec of the Century in 2001 remains an icon in Algeria. Mustapha Dahleb, who played for ten years at PSG, played with the Algerian selection from 1971 to 1983 but never managed to offer his country the first CAN. His best result remains a fourth place in 1982 and a loss to Ghana in the semi-final and then to Zambia in the small final. Their three successes in as many matches in the group stage had however raised hopes.
–
Mustapha Dahleb (right) in Algeria’s victory over Germany at the 1982 World Cup. © AFP
The attacking midfielder can especially keep the World Cup in Spain the same year his country was eliminated in the pool in the shameful match between Germany and Austria, where the two teams had agreed on the result to qualify. With the Algerian team, he has 20 caps and 6 goals.
El-Hadji Diouf (Senegal)
El-Hadji Diouf is not just a colorful personality. The Senegalese, double African Ballon d’Or in 2001 and 2002, performed well with Senegal, especially at the start of his career, without however managing to lift a trophy. In 2002, he was nevertheless elected best player of the CAN after the defeat of his family in the final against Cameroon. The same year, he achieved a high-flying World Cup, reaching the quarter-finals and notably beating France.
–
El Hadji Diouf was the best Senegalese player for many years. © AFP
The rest is on the other hand more indigestible with an elimination in the quarter of the CAN 2004 against Tunisia, that of 2006 in the semi-final against the Ivory Coast in an edition where he did not score then finally an elimination in the 1st round in 2008. Despite everything, the whimsical striker will have scored 21 goals in 69 caps.
READ ALSO. CAN 2022. Lycaons, Blue Sharks, Fennecs… Where do the nicknames of the African selections come from?
They also did not win CAN: Emmanuel Adebayor (Togo), Michael Essien (Ghana), Frédéric Kanouté (Mali), Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria), Seydou Keïta (Mali)…
– .
