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MLS stars starring in the Africa Cup of Nations
Columbus Crew defender Steven Moreira (31) is leading the charge for the mighty Cape Verde squad. Aaron Doster-USA TODAY Sports

MLS stars starring in the Africa Cup of Nations

By Alyssa Clang  |  Last updated 1/22/24

The Africa Cup of Nations — known colloquially as AFCON — is one of the most important tournaments in world soccer, on par with the Copa America and European Championships and second only to the World Cup. It has been played every two to three years since the mid-1950s and has given us some of the most compelling storylines in the sport.

The 34th edition of the tournament is taking place in Côte D'Ivoire, featuring Premier League stars Mo Salah of Liverpool, Mohammed Kudus of West Ham and Andre Onana of Manchester United. MLS players are making their marks in the tournament, too.

As the group stage of the AFCON comes to a close and knockout rounds begin, let's check in on some of the biggest stories coming out of Africa.

Cape Verde is on fire ... and powered by an MLS champion: The island nation of Cape Verde is home to just 588,000 people — that's roughly the size of Milwaukee. But Cape Verde is dominating AFCON, defeating former champions Ghana, 2-1, in its opening match and destroying Mozambique, 3-0, in its second. It's the smallest nation at the tournament by far but the first to officially qualify for the knockout rounds.

Leading the charge for the mighty Cape Verde squad is an unlikely MLS hero, Steven Moreira of the Columbus Crew. The defender won the MLS Cup in December and seems primed to make a serious run at the African championship in January.

Equatorial Guinea is making African giants look like minnows: When casual fans of international soccer discuss Africa, they tend to focus on Cameroon, Senegal, Nigeria and Côte D'Ivoire. Those countries have produced some of Africa's finest players, from Samuel Eto'o and Sadio Mané to Victor Osimhen and Didier Drogba. 

When tiny, unheralded Equatorial Guinea got drawn into a group featuring the two latter teams, many thought it didn't stand a chance. But with all three games of the group stage complete, Equatorial Guinea has finished first — ahead of Nigeria and Côte D'Ivoire. It's an incredible achievement for the small Central African nation.

Equatorial Guinea has made significant investments in its sporting infrastructure in recent years. It hosted the 2015 iteration of this tournament and has focused its energy on sending players abroad to train. This current Equatorial Guinea squad features players based in far-flung locations such as Monza, Italy; Polokwane, South Africa and Gran Canaria, Spain. Farthest flung of all is stalwart defender Carlos Akapo, who has played in MLS with the San Jose Earthquakes since 2022.

Ghana is in deep trouble: U.S. Men's National Team fans know Ghana all too well —the Black Stars knocked the Americans out of consecutive World Cups in 2006 and 2010 before the U.S. earned revenge in 2014. Through the years, Ghana has been one of the most consistent and enjoyable African teams to follow, but things have taken a worrying turn.

Despite featuring world-class players such as Athletic Bilbao's Iñaki Williams, Wolves' Antoine Semenyo and Crystal Palace's Jordan Ayew, Ghana is perilously close to an embarrassing early elimination. It lost to Cape Verde in its opening match before throwing away two separate leads to draw with Egypt in its second.

Ghana must beat Mozambique in its final game and hope Egypt falls to already-qualified Cape Verde to have much hope of progressing. If it fails to make the knockout rounds, it will be one of the biggest upsets in the history of Ghana soccer.

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