Africa Cup of Nations: Who made WhoScored.com’s Team of the last 16? | Football News

The AFCON round of 16 has drawn to a close, with tournament hosts Cameroon, as well as Burkina Faso, Tunisia, Gambia, Senegal, Egypt, Morocco and Equatorial Guinea having all advanced to this weekend’s quarter-finals.

The first round of 16 of the Africa Cup of Nations didn’t pass without drama, though, with big hitters Nigeria and the Ivory Coast both dropping out of the competition and minnows Comoros pushing hosts Cameroon all the way despite having no goalkeeper.

Here we run through WhoScored.com’s best-rated XI from the opening round of knock-out fixtures at the tournament:

Goalkeeper: Mohamed El Shenaway (Egypt) – 8.25 rating

Injury forced Mohamed El Shenaway off in the dying embers of regular time in Egypt’s penalty shoot-out victory over the Ivory Coast on Wednesday night and The Pharaohs will hope it’s nothing too serious with a quarter-final meeting with Morocco to come. The 33-year-old kept his side in the tie with seven saves before being forced off.

Right back: Achraf Hakimi (Morocco) – 8.53 rating

Achraf Hakimi has scored in back-to-back matches for Morocco for the first time and saved arguably the best goal of his career in their 2-1 victory over Malawi on Tuesday evening. The Paris Saint-Germain full-back scored a stunning free-kick to win the match for his country and it now means both of his goals at AFCON have come from outside the area. Hakimi had five shots in total against Malawi, as well as making four tackles and interceptions combined.

Centre back: Eric Bailly (Ivory Coast) – 7.67 rating

Manchester United defender Eric Bailly ended up missing the penalty that dumped Ivory Coast out of the competition but it shows just how well he was playing prior to his spot-kick that he still makes the best rated XI for the round of 16. Bailly was always in the right place at the right time to alleviate danger, with five tackles and interceptions combined and 10 clearances. The 27-year-old also blocked four of Egypt’s attempts on goal and moved the ball out of defence with two successful dribbles.

Centre back: Saul Coco (Equatorial Guinea) – 8.30 rating

Equatorial Guinea pulled off one of the surprise results of the round of 16 by eliminating Mali on penalties, with centre-back Saul Coco picking up the WhoScored Man of the Match award. Coco dispatched his penalty in the shoot-out and was colossal at the back from start to finish. The 22-year-old made five tackles and interceptions combined, blocked three shots, won three aerial duels and made seven clearances to help his side kept a clean sheet in normal time.

Left back: Steeve Yago (Burkina Faso) – 7.99 rating

Burkina Faso defeated Gabon on penalties in a fiery contest, with left-back Steeve Yago picking up the star man award. Yago made no mistake with his penalty but was a rock defensively prior to that. The 29-year-old completed eight of his 10 attempted tackles against Gabon leading to his opposite number being subbed off shortly after half-time. Yago also chipped in with two clearances, as many interceptions, as well as alleviating any pressure with three fouls won.

Central midfield: Selim Amallah (Morocco) – 7.88 rating

Selim Amallah played a key role in Morocco’s come-from-behind victory over Malawi. The 25-year-old registered his second assist of the tournament, with Youssef En-Nesyri heading in his corner to draw Morocco level on the stroke of half-time. Amallah registered four key passes in total and contributed defensively with three tackles and interceptions combined.

Central midfield: Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast) – 7.72 rating

Ibrahim Sangare dispatched his penalty in shoot-out defeat to Egypt to cap another fine individual display at this month’s tournament. The 24-year-old registered two key passes and completed as many dribbles in normal time as well as two interceptions to break up Egypt’s play. Anchoring the Ivory Coast midfield, no team-mate completed more passes than Sangare on Wednesday (59), with the PSV man also boasting the best pass success rate of any starter for his team (88.1%).

Central midfield: Youssouf M’Changama (Comoros) – 7.85 rating

Comoros did remarkably well to push Cameroon all the way despite having no goalkeeper, only two substitutes and their captain sent off after seven minutes. Incredibly, they had more shots on target (7 vs 6) than the host nation and Youssouf M’Changama gave the minnows an outside chance of a shock result with an unstoppable free-kick. Comoros eventually fell to a 2-1 defeat but it was a herculean effort with the odds stacked against them.

Right wing: Nicolas Pepe (Ivory Coast) – 8.42 rating

Nicolas Pepe will hope for better fortunes at Arsenal once back from AFCON after some eye-catching displays for the Ivory Coast at AFCON. In fact, the 26-year-old was actually the WhoScored Man of the Match in defeat to Egypt on Wednesday. Pepe was a hub of creativity for the Elephants, completing three dribbles and registering four key passes. Pepe also had three shots, scored a penalty and won two fouls.

Striker: Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) – 8.79 rating

There wasn’t anything particularly pretty about Cameroon’s win over a depleted Comoros side but Vincent Aboubakar helped the host nation over the line with yet another goal for the Lions. The 30-year-old notched his sixth goal of the campaign, which is at least twice as many as any other player has managed. Aboubakar has now scored in all four matches at AFCON and likely now has the Golden Boot award wrapped at the quarter-final stage.

Left wing: Sadio Mane (Senegal) – 8.08 rating

Senegal will desperately hope to have Sadio Mane available for their quarter-final tie with Equatorial Guinea after the Liverpool ace suffered suspected concussion in their 2-0 win over Cape Verde on Tuesday. Mane scored his second goal of the tournament prior to the head injury. Mane had three attempts in total, drew three fouls and completed two dribbles to help Senegal into the next round of the competition.