Nottingham Forest Players at AFCON: The State of Play

The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations has reached the quarter-finals stage, with big names such as Egypt, Cameroon and Senegal eliminated from the competition. Nottingham Forest had six players at AFCON at the beginning of the tournament, which was the most in the Premier League. The Reds now have four players at the competition, with the final taking place on Sunday, February 11.

Which Nottingham Forest Players Are Still at AFCON?

Senegal Players to Return

Cheikhou Kouyaté and Moussa Niakhaté have represented Senegal in this year’s edition at AFCON, however, on January 29, they exited the tournament after losing a penalty shootout to the hosts, Ivory Coast.

Ivory Coast won the shootout 5-4, with the only miss coming from Forest’s Niakhaté, whose penalty struck the post.

Theoretically, both players should be available for the game away at Bournemouth on Sunday, January 4, however, Nuno Espírito Santo has not yet clarified when they will return to the squad.

Ivory Coast Advance  

Ibrahim Sangaré, Serge Aurier and Wily Boly will continue their journey in the competition after the victory against the holders, Senegal. Ivory Coast will now play Mali in the next round on Saturday, February 3.

Aurier played all 120 minutes for the Elephants and scored in the shootout, while Sangaré played 73 minutes. Sangaré’s replacement, Franck Kessie, scored the equaliser in the 86^th minute to take the game to extra time. Boly was an unused substitute.

Aina Delivers

Ola Aina played the full 90 minutes in Nigeria’s 2-0 victory against Cameroon in the Round of 16.

Ademola Lookman scored both goals for the Super Eagles and they will face Angola in the quarter-finals on Friday, February 2.

Aina has started all four games for Nigeria and has been a consistent performer in an in-form team. He has been described as the “most skillful player” in the Nigerian squad.