{"id":5096,"date":"2023-12-09T13:33:40","date_gmt":"2023-12-09T12:33:40","guid":{"rendered":"https:\/\/dzwatch.net\/?p=5096"},"modified":"2026-09-04T01:57:26","modified_gmt":"2026-09-04T00:57:26","slug":"africa-cup-of-nations-2023-group-a-stars","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=5096","title":{"rendered":"Africa Cup of Nations 2023 Group A Stars"},"content":{"rendered":"\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">As the <strong><em><a href=\"https:\/\/www.cafonline.com\/caf-africa-cup-of-nations\/\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">Africa Cup of Nations 2023<\/a><\/em><\/strong> <a class=\"dzsl-auto-link dzsl-internal\" data-dzsl=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=69067\">kicks off<\/a>, stars like Nigeria&#8217;s Victor Osimhen and Ivory Coast&#8217;s Franck Kessi\u00e9 are not just the highlights of Group A but of the entire tournament, held in Ivory Coast.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Napoli&#8217;s Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, aged 24, is one of the most formidable forwards in the tournament. With a record of 20 goals and 8 assists for his <a class=\"dzsl-auto-link dzsl-internal\" data-dzsl=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=70573\">national team<\/a>, Osimhen&#8217;s combination of strength, speed, and scoring acumen makes him a lethal weapon for the &#8220;Super Eagles.&#8221; Not only has he bagged the top scorer and best player awards in the Italian league last season, but he&#8217;s also in the running for the African Player of the Year, contending with Morocco&#8217;s Achraf Hakimi and Egypt&#8217;s Mohamed Salah.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">On the other side, 26-year-old Franck Kessi\u00e9 from Ivory Coast, a key player for Saudi club Al-Ittihad and former Milan and Barcelona midfielder, stands as a cornerstone of his national team. Known for his precision and powerful shots, especially from outside the box, Kessi\u00e9&#8217;s aerial abilities are also noteworthy. Playing on home soil is expected to further amplify his impact in the tournament.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">Equally important are Mama Bald\u00e9 and Joz\u00e9 Mach\u00edn, representing Guinea-Bissau and Equatorial Guinea respectively. These players add to the depth and competitiveness of Group A, showcasing the rich talent pool in African <a class=\"dzsl-auto-link dzsl-external\" data-dzsl=\"external\" href=\"https:\/\/www.fifa.com\/\" rel=\"noopener noreferrer\" target=\"_blank\">football<\/a>.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">In the opening match, Kessi\u00e9 and his teammates will face Guinea-Bissau on Saturday, January 13, while Osimhen-led Nigeria takes on Equatorial Guinea on Sunday, January 14.<\/p>\n\n\n\n<p class=\"wp-block-paragraph\">For more detailed insights and updates, visit <strong><em><a href=\"http:\/\/dzwatch.net\" target=\"_blank\" rel=\"noopener\">dzwatch.net<\/a><\/em><\/strong> , <a class=\"dzsl-auto-link dzsl-internal\" data-dzsl=\"internal\" href=\"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/?p=68889\">Africa Cup of Nations<\/a> 2023 Group A Stars<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"<p>As the Africa Cup of Nations 2023 kicks off, stars like Nigeria&#8217;s Victor Osimhen and Ivory Coast&#8217;s Franck Kessi\u00e9 are not just the highlights of Group A but of the entire tournament, held in Ivory Coast. Napoli&#8217;s Nigerian striker Victor Osimhen, aged 24, is one of the most formidable forwards in the tournament. With a &hellip;<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":5097,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"_acf_changed":false,"cybocfi_hide_featured_image":"","iawp_total_views":3,"footnotes":""},"categories":[40],"tags":[],"class_list":["post-5096","post","type-post","status-publish","format-standard","has-post-thumbnail","hentry","category-sports"],"acf":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5096","targetHints":{"allow":["GET"]}}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcomments&post=5096"}],"version-history":[{"count":3,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5096\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":71703,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/posts\/5096\/revisions\/71703"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=\/wp\/v2\/media\/5097"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fmedia&parent=5096"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Fcategories&post=5096"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/dzwatch.dz\/index.php?rest_route=%2Fwp%2Fv2%2Ftags&post=5096"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}