The omission of Super Eagles duo Alex Iwobi and Stanley Nwabali from the CAF Afcon 2025 Best XI sparked debate during the latest episode of Soccer Africa, a programme broadcast on SuperSport.

A few days after the conclusion of the tournament in Morocco, the CAF Technical Study Group (TSG) unveiled the Team of the Tournament, which included four players each from Morocco and Senegal, alongside three Nigerian representatives.

Joining Ademola Lookman, Victor Osimhen and Calvin Bassey in the Best XI were Yassine Bounou, Achraf Hakimi, Moussa Niakhaté, Noussair Mazraoui, Pape Gueye, Idrissa Gueye, Brahim Díaz and Sadio Mané.

Senegal's Pape Gueye was preferred over Iwobi in central midfield, while Morocco's Yassine Bounou edged out Nwabali for the goalkeeper spot.

Bounou may have recorded five clean sheets, but Nwabali stayed unbeaten through the knockout stages, tallying eight saves, just two shy of the Atlas Lions goalkeeper's total.

Although Iwobi managed two assists, the Fulham midfielder played an influential role in the build-up to most of the goals scored by the three-time African champions before the semifinals.

Former Mamelodi Sundowns coach Sudesh Singh defended the selection, saying: "I think when you look at the performance of all the players, it was very fair. I would have loved to see Iwobi, but then who do you replace in that lineup that they had? Pape Gueye, with age on his side, but he still was outstanding in this tournament. 

"With the leadership he showed and the goals he scored, I think it was very fair. Calvin Bassey was outstanding as well."

Meanwhile, Ashley Nakazwe, former team manager at TS Galaxy FC, felt Nwabali deserved recognition. 

"Nwabali could have been there, he deserves to be there, he's a great goalkeeper".

Nwabali won the Man of the Match award after inspiring the Super Eagles to a 4-2 penalty shootout victory over Egypt in last weekend's third place playoff.

Ifeanyi Emmanuel