The Confederation of African Football (CAF) has unveiled its Best XI for the just-concluded 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), with three Super Eagles stars: Victor Osimhen, Ademola Lookman and Calvin Bassey included in the team of the tournament.
CAF announced the Team of the Tournament after the competition ended on January 18, 2026. Senegal emerged champions of AFCON 2025 after defeating host nation Morocco 1-0 in the final, courtesy of Pape Gueye’s strike in the fourth minute of extra time.
Nigeria finished the tournament with the bronze medal after beating Egypt 4-2 on penalties in the third-place play-off match in Casablanca.
CAF published the Best XI on its official X page, adopting a widely accepted 4-3-3 formation made up of players from just three countries — Senegal, Morocco and Nigeria.
Excellence, position by position. Meet the #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 best XI.
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) January 21, 2026@Midea pic.twitter.com/DP3r3AzMiF
Osimhen featured in six matches for the Super Eagles as the three-time African champions secured third place in Morocco. The Galatasaray forward scored four goals during the competition.
Ademola Lookman also earned his place after an outstanding campaign. The Atalanta winger recorded the highest goal involvement at the tournament, scoring three goals and providing four assists. The 27-year-old makes CAF’s Team of the Tournament for the second time, having also been selected during his debut AFCON appearance in 2023 in Côte d’Ivoire.
Calvin Bassey completed Nigeria’s representation in the Best XI. The Fulham defender was a commanding presence in the Super Eagles’ backline, helping the team keep three clean sheets. Bassey played every minute for coach Eric Chelle’s side before missing the third-place play-off due to suspension.
Despite Nigeria’s strong showing, CAF overlooked Super Eagles midfielder Alex Iwobi, who was widely regarded as one of the standout performers in the middle of the park throughout the tournament.
Champions Senegal dominated the selection with four players, including Player of the Tournament Sadio Mane, Idris Gana Gueye, winning goal scorer Pape Gueye and defender Moussa Niakhite.
Runners-up Morocco also had four players named in the team, among them Goalkeeper of the Tournament Yassine Bono, Achraf Hakimi, Noussair Mazraoui and tournament top scorer Brahim Diaz.
CAF’s selection sparked reactions among fans, with some questioning the inclusion of Morocco captain Hakimi, who featured in only four matches following injury and had a relatively quiet tournament.
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