Yaya Touré names Nigeria as standout team of AFCON

Former Côte d’Ivoire midfielder Yaya Touré has named Nigeria‘s Super Eagles the most impressive national team at the recently concluded Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Morocco.

​Under the guidance of Éric Chelle, the Super Eagles enjoyed an impressive unbeaten run during the tournament, scoring 14 goals and conceding only four. Their semifinal loss to hosts Morocco (4-2 on penalties) was their first and only defeat of the competition.

​Reacting to the tournament in an interview with Bleacher Report Football, Touré—a four-time African Footballer of the Year—praised Algeria, DR Congo, Côte d’Ivoire, and Morocco for their gameplay.

The current Saudi Arabia assistant coach singled out Nigeria as the true standout due to their expansive, attacking philosophy.

“I was impressed with Nigeria. Nigeria played good football. When you see the stats, they’ve been scoring more than usual goals, full strike, full attack, playing very good football. The most impressive for me, in my opinion, was Nigeria.

The football they were playing, the goals they were scoring, the players winning, because I think they have two of the best African players in their team. They played such wonderful games, and they got kicked out by Morocco in the semifinal, as you can see.”

Nigeria eventually secured a third-place finish by defeating Egypt on penalties in the bronze-medal match.

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