Afcon 2021, Serie A players at the Africa Cup of Nations. Top players Osimhen, Kessié, Koulibaly and Anguissa will be skipping the Italian pro league matches to join their national teams at the Africa Cup of Nations, along with several other African football stars: here’s who’s playing and who stayed back in Italy.
The Africa Cup of Nations and Serie A, the Italian Top Football League
Africa Cup, the most important competition for African national teams disputed this year in Cameroon between January and February 2022, with 24 participating national teams, features several top players from Italian Serie A and European football.
Serie A Players at AFCON 2022
Many African players from the Italian Serie A are featuring at the Africa Cup of Nations this year, besides Kessié, Koulibaly and Anguissa.
Here is the list of Serie A Players at AFCON 2022:
▪ ATALANTA – Boga (Ivory Coast)
▪ BOLOGNA – Barrow (Gambia), Mbaye (Senegal)
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▪ CAGLIARI – Keita (Senegal)
▪ FIORENTINA – Amrabat (Morocco)
▪ LAZIO – Akpa Akpro (Ivory Coast)
▪ MILAN – Ballo-Touré (Senegal), Bennacer (Algeria), Kessie (Ivory Coast)
▪ NAPOLI – Anguissa (Cameroon), Koulibaly (Senegal), Ounas (Algeria)
▪ ROMA – Darboe (Gambia), Diawara (Guinea)
▪ SALERNITANA – L. Coulibaly (Mali)
▪ SAMPDORIA – O. Colley (Gambia)
▪ SASSUOLO – Traore (Ivory Coast)
▪ SPEZIA – E. Colley (Gambia)
▪ TORINO – Aina (Nigeria)
▪ VENEZIA – Ebuehi (Nigeria)
▪ VERONA – Hongla (Cameroon)
As the Africa Cup of Nations will be played simultaneously with Serie A, Afcon 2021 Serie A players will be forced to jump from a minimum of 3 to a maximum of 5 Serie A matches.
If the national teams of the players were to pass the group stage, the number of missed matches would increase to 4, up to a maximum of 5 if the team reaches the finals.
African Serie A footballers not summoned to the African Cup
Here is the list of African Serie A players who have not been called up by their respective national teams for the African Cup and will therefore remain at the disposal of their clubs.
▪ BOLOGNA – Kingsley (Nigeria)
▪ FIORENTINA – Maleh (Morocco)
▪ GENOA – Ekuban (Ghana); Kallon (Sierra Leone); Fares (Algeria)
▪ NAPOLI – Ghoulam (Algeria); Osimhen (Nigeria- NOT PARTICIPATING)
READ MORE: Footballer Victor Osimhen pulls out of Afcon 2021, contracts Covid-19
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▪ ROMA – Afena-Gyan (Ghana) – waiver of the call
▪ SALERNITANA – Gondo (Ivory Coast); Simy, Obi (Nigeria); M. Coulibaly (Senegal);
Kechrida (Tunisia)
▪ SASSUOLO – Harroui (Morocco); Obiang (Equatorial Guinea)
▪ SPEZIA – Bourabia (Morocco); Gyasi (Spice)
▪ TORINO – Singo, Djidji, Koné (Ivory Coast)
▪ UDINESE – Success (Nigeria)
▪ VENEZIA – Kiyine (Morocco); Okereke (Nigeria)
▪ VERONA – Tameze (Cameroon)
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