Africa’s road to the 2026 World Cup begins this week. As ever, there will be no shortage of new faces, many with intriguing futures, as head coaches look to incorporate fresh talent into their squads.
From the new Morocco star who spent his summers in Senegal and earned admiration from Thierry Henry, to an ex-Arsenal hero who once modelled his game on the Gunners great, here are six players in line to make their debuts for African nations during this international break.
And perhaps this series will give one or two player the chance to make a big impression, with the Africa Cup of Nations looming in January.
Sofiane Diop – Morocco
Reunited in the Morocco camp with his former France U-21 colleague Amine Adli, Tours-born Diop is a player who has the capacity to contribute another X Factor to this talented Atlas Lions squad.
They’re lucky to have him too, with Diop having been forced to make a choice between France, Senegal or Morocco for his international loyalty.
A graduate of the celebrated Stade Rennais academy, Diop first made his mark in Ligue 1 with AS Monaco, flourishing under Niko Kovac, and even scoring the opener against Paris Saint-Germain in February 2021.
Then 20, Diop was one of the revelations of the season – dazzling with his technical class and creativity – and received praise from ex-Monaco star and France great Thierry Henry, no less.
“He surprised me,” Henry told Ouest France. “He ran more than 12km against Dijon, and to have this level of capacity to play in his position, at his age, is shocking. When in possession of the ball, he knows how to turn, he knows how to dribble, he sees the play.”
Despite scoring 13 goals in Ligue 1 between 2020 and 2022, Diop didn’t appear to the taste of incoming head coach Philippe Clement, and was promptly offloaded to OGC Nice for an estimated 22 million Euros last year.
It’s taking time for Diop to rediscover his momentum, no doubt, but his audacious recent free-kick goal against former club Rennes – the ball bouncing down off the bar and in off the back of ex-Blues stopper Steve Mandanda – proves that the 23-year-old is getting back on track.
His fall from the spotlight at Monaco led to greater speculation about his international future, as while Diop’s mother is from Morocco, his Senegalese father had always sought to inculcate in his son a great passion for all things Teranga.
As a youngster, Diop spent two months on holiday in Senegal each summer, and Lions boss Aliou Cisse made no secret of his desire to recruit the attacker to play alongside Sadio Mané and co.
Ultimately, however, Morocco won out – with federation president Fouzi Lekjaa making it a mission of head coach Walid Regragui to ‘sell’ the Atlas Lions to the youngster.
He’s now in line to make his debut for Morocco against Tanzania on November 21, and is joined in the camp by uncapped Belgian-born Ben Bouchouari, Mehdi Benabid and Abdel Abqar.
Nathan Tella – Nigeria
Super Eagles fans continue to dream of the likes of Dominic Solanke, Michael Olise or Noni Madueke turning out for the national side, but in the meantime, they’ll have to make do with Tella, who arrives to further swell Nigeria’s roster of attacking options.
Born in England, Tella cut his teeth at the Arsenal academy alongside the likes of Bukayo Saka, Eddie Nketiah and Emile Smith-Rowe, but the Gunners fan was cut by his boyhood club in 2017 rather than progress to the seniors like his ex-teammates.
While the North Londoners didn’t believe Tella was worth pursuing with, Southampton smelled an opportunity, and the lightning quick wideman promptly blossomed with Saints.
He spent three years in the academy before making his senior debut late in the 2019-20 season, going on to make a further 32 Premier League appearances before dropping into the Championship.
The Arsenal-Southampton connection, as well as Tella’s pace out wide, meant that parallels with Theo Walcott quickly emerged, and the youngster once identified Walcott, Thierry Henry and Alex Oxlade-Chamberlain as his role models.
“Henry was my hero and I used to watch what he did closely,” Tella said. “I would practice his moves and tricks and try them out first in the playground at school. I never tried anything first at Arsenal.
“I was too worried about losing possession or making a mistake, but if it worked in the playground, then I took it to Hale End.”
This season, Bayer Leverkusen supporters have been enjoying Tella’s pace and fancy footwork following a £20 million summer switch, and it won’t be long before Nigeria fans are also able to enjoy shades of Henry in an already star-studded forward line.
Aboubakary Koita – Mauritania
Another player with split loyalties who had a decision to make before this international break was Sint-Truiden’s Koita, who should prove to be a magnificent under-the-radar addition to Nations Cup outsiders Mauritania.
Koita’s international future has become a hot topic since the 25-year-old bagged a six-minute hat-trick in the Belgian top tier against Genk in September, including one strike that was registered as travelling at over 67 miles per hour.
It may have been the first senior treble of his career, but Koita’s hat-trick was the fastest since Gilles van Binst bagged three in four minutes for Anderlecht in 1976, and it surely prompted Mauritania to fast-track his introduction.
They got there ahead of Senegal, where Koita was born, and Mali, following head coach Amir Abou’s decision to travel directly to Belgium to meet the player in person.
Koita should have the opportunity to go up against the land of his birth later in the qualifying campaign after Mauritania and Senegal were drawn together in Group B.
Ibrahim Sissoko – Mali
Some of Africa’s finest goal-getters of recent years have signalled their class by dominating Ligue 2 defences, with the likes of Tino Kadewere, Famara Diédhiou and Mustapha Yatabare all having won the second tier’s top scorer award in the last decade.
This year, it could be Sissoko’s turn, with the Malian frontman currently only second behind Caen’s Alexandre Mendy in the scoring charts. Already with eight goals in 14 matches, the 27-year-old was a free agent in both 2022 and 2023 after leaving Chamois Niortais and Sochaux respectively, while momentum earlier in his career – since starring in the National for AS Beziers – was punctuated by injury and the coronavirus pandemic.
Now in his prime, and leading the line for fallen giants Saint-Etienne, Sissoko could be primed to add a Mali cap to his recent flurry of goals, having been named in Eric Chelle’s Aigles squad.
An imposing presence at 6’4, Sissoko enjoys battling with centre-backs for aerial balls, but also has the turn of pace to run in behind and compete for through passes. He could prove a valuable asset as Mali look to start qualifying strongly, before attentions turn to that eternal quest for a first AFCON title next year.
Faris Moumbagna – Cameroon
Defenders across Norway will surely be hoping that reports in the Cameroonian press that LOSC Lille are interested in Moumbagna are realised in January, with the new Indomitable Lions call-up in the midst of a purple patch in the Eliteserien.
Based on recent form, you could understand the Dogues’ interest, with the attacker having netted 15 in 26 in the Norwegian top tier, while also starring in the Conference League for Bodo/Glimt.
He scored in both of the recent continental victories over Turkish giants Besiktas – including twice in a remarkable away victory in Istanbul – and is now being entrusted by Rigobert Song to bring his form to the international arena.
Earlier in the year, it was rumoured that Norway were looking to escalate Moumbagna’s nationality application in order to acquire his services for their national side, but Cameroon’s call-up has firmly put an end to the prospect of a dream powerhouse partnership with Erling Haaland.
Junior Tchamadeu – Cameroon
As well as bolstering their forward line with Moumbanga and their left side with Leon Bell Bell – so good they named him twice! – Cameroon have also sought to resolve their problem right-back position with the addition of wonderkid Tchamadeu.
International recognition would represent yet another significant step in a remarkable rise for the teenager, who was playing fourth tier football with Colchester United as recently as August, having been named League Two Young Player of the Year last term.
He was signed by StokeCity in the Autumn, despite reported interest from Blackburn Rovers and Norwich City, and has already made four Championship appearances for the Potters, catching the eye with his adventurous forays from wing-back.
The 19-year-old last visited the land of his ancestors as a boy, a decade ago, but he’ll return on a very different mission this time around!
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