GOALKEEPERALBAN LAFONT (Burkina Faso/Nantes)Lafont, the Ouagadougou-born son of a French father and a Burkinabe mother, still holds the record as the youngest ever goalkeeper to play in a Ligue 1 match. He set this record back in 2015 while at Toulouse. He was just over 16 years old when he was given the nod between the sticks. Now at Nantes, he’s a first-team regular, and he kept another clean sheet when he faced the high-flying Lens. His recent performances earned him a France call-up in place of the injured Hugo Lloris. Before you say anything – we’re still counting him as African!DEFENCEJORDAN ZEMURA (Zimbabwe/Bournemouth)This was the young left-back’s best performance of the season so far. He defended well for 90 minutes against Newcastle United at St James’ Park and was efficient on the other end as well, delivering a well-timed cross for Philip Billing to steer home and give Cherries an unlikely lead. The London-born six-times Warrior kept Miguel Almiron and Jacob Murphy quiet. The match ended 1-1, which was an unlikely achievement for the team that’s improved a lot since the sacking of Scott Parker.RAMY BENSEBAINI (Algeria/Borussia Monchengladbach)Can we have two left-backs in our selected eleven? This is fantasy football, so we’ll allow it! Anyway, it’s hard to ignore Bensebaini. He scored in his team’s mighty impressive 3-0 thrashing of RB Leipzig on Saturday and continues to impress as one of Bundesliga’s most reliable performers. If he continues with performances like this, We could make him a permanent fixture of our All-African team.TOSIN ADARABIOYO (Nigeria/Fulham)Even though he’s only represented England at youth level, Abdul-Nasir Oluwatosin Oluwadoyinsolami Adarabioyo remains eligible for a Nigeria call-up. The Super Eagles could use such a player in this age where many Premier League players of African heritage choose to represent their ancestors’ countries. The strong centre-back scored a towering header and helped his team to a 3-2 win at Nottingham Forest on Friday night.Player of the week in 🇫🇷;Mama Baldé Minutes played: 84’Goals: 2Assists: 1Shots on target: 3Dribble attempts (succ.): 2 (2)Big chances missed: 1Touches: 33Acc. passes: 10/16 (63%)Key passes: 1Big chances created: 1#Ligue1 pic.twitter.com/VYWLQShvI5— Fenerlina 🎀 (@Fenerliina) September 19, 2022 MAMA BALDE (Guinea-Bissau/Troyes)The Guinea-Bissau international striker scored twice in a 3-1 win at Clermont, the third of the season for his side. The 26-year-old equalised on 23 minutes after taking the ball from the feet of sluggish defender Mateusz Wieteska. He added a second nine minutes after the break to bring his tally to five goals in eight Ligue 1 games for the mid-table side.MIDFIELDALEX IWOBI (Nigeria/Everton)The former Arsenal man was fantastic in the middle of the park as Everton battled to a priceless 1-0 victory over their former boss David Moyes and his ambitious West Ham. Iwobi never stopped running and made his contribution both in defence and attack. It was a complete performance, one that his manager Frank Lampard would have been proud of.Alexander Iwobi vs West Ham @alexiwobi pic.twitter.com/Bj8473uHs0— 🤓 (@JMNDComps) September 18, 2022 THOMAS PARTEY (Ghana/Arsenal)Even though he’s only just recovered from injury but he took no time at all to show why he’s so highly rated at the Emirates. Paired with Granit Xhaka in the middle of the park, Partey controlled the match as the Gunners outplayed Brentford in every department on the road to a 3-0 win that lifted them to the top of the Premier League table.ANDRE-FRANK ZAMBO ANGUISSA (Cameroon/Lazio)Zambo’s display at Milan perhaps wasn’t quite as spectacular as some of his recent ones, but it was never going to be. His task was to neutralise Milan’s most creative midfielder Sandro Tonali, and he managed to do just that, setting his team on course to a statement 2-1 victory at San Siro. The result took the Neapolitans to the top of Serie A standings ahead of the international break. Zambo has been immense in the first part of the season, making the Campagna club’s fans dream of winning the Scudetto.🚀 Enchanté, Fousseni Diabaté. pic.twitter.com/2XcjxRGpQe— Fudbalski Hram (@Fudbalski_Hram) September 15, 2022 FOUSSENI DIABATE (Mali/Partizan)The former Leicester City winger spent a couple of years playing in Turkey with fairly little effect. But his move to Serbian Mozzart Bet Superliga team Partizan proved an inspired decision for all parties involved. Full of tricks and lighting-quick, Diabate quickly became one of his team’s most influential players. He particularly caught the eye in last week’s UEFA Europa Conference League draw with OGC Nice, in which he scored and looked a constant threat. The only surprise is that he’s been overlooked by national coach Eric Chelle in the latest Mali squad.ATTACKJONAH AYUNGA (Kenya/St. Mirren)Our boy scored in what was one of the unlikeliest results of the weekend, when St. Mirren disarmed and battered the reigning Scottish Premiership champions Celtic. The victory for the black and whites ended Celtic’s 38-game unbeaten run in the league. The son of a Kenyan father has done well!Jonah Ayunga has been directly involved in 9 out of the 13 St Mirren goals this season (69%)6 goals and 3 assists in 11 games unbelievable🔥 pic.twitter.com/s11cpflLC3— Silky Kiltie🏴 (@Jml1877) September 20, 2022 ASSAN CEESAY (Gambia/Lecce)The Gambian opened the scoring as Lecce won 2-1 at Salernitana to claim their first victory of the Serie A season after three draws and three losses. Ceesay starred when the Gambia exceeded expectations by reaching the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals in Cameroon this year.
