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No African player managed to make it to the top 10 of UEFA's rankings for the 2023 Player of the Year
African players have once again gone without recognition by football’s governing bodies, as not a single player from the continent, including Napoli hero Victor Osimhen, was included in the top 10 of UEFA’s Player of the Year shortlist.
Osimhen missing from UEFA’s top 10
Despite helping Napoli to the Scudetto in the 2022/23 season with 26 goals in 32 games as the Partenopei shocked Italy as well as guiding them to their first-ever UEFA Champions League quarterfinal, there was no place for Osimhen among the top 10 players in Europe as the forward did not pick up a vote during selection.
The Nigerian striker was apparently undone by the Super Eagle’s failure to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup, as he was passed up on by players who had relatively underwhelming seasons compared to him based on their performances in Qatar.
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UEFA have established the criteria for this year’s award to include the 2022 FIFA World Cup, and this could be the biggest factor in Osimhen missing out.
En-Nesyri, Bounou also miss out on top 10
However, given the established importance of the World Cup in the voting process that saw Croatia’s Luka Modric and Argentina’s Alexis MacAlister make the list, other African stars will feel hard done by, especially after Morocco’s Valiant effort to become the first team from the continent to reach the semifinals.
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The Moroccan duo of Yassine “Bono” Bounou and Youssef En Nesyri were both instrumental in the Atlas Lions’ monumental feat in Qatar, but did not stop there; they also became European Champions with Sevilla, winning the UEFA Europa League title, where Bono managed to save a penalty during the shootout in the final.
Neither player received votes despite their performances for club and country, but their Sevilla teammate Jesus Navas received six points to finish just outside the top 10 in 11th place after he also won the UEFA Nations League with Spain.
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10:10 - 17.08.2023
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The top three players on the list, who were also shortlisted for the UEFA Player of the Year award include Manchester City duo of Kevin De Bruyne and Erling Haaland, as well as Inter Miami’s Lionel Messi.
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