African countries have always been part of the Fifa U17 World Cup in all of its 38-year history and besides producing 7 winners out of the 18 tournaments, but the best part is the quality of stars we have produced and some of the brightest talent in world football. Now how about selecting the best African talent based on their performance at the World Cup? You will be surprised who makes this team.
How do you determine Africa’s greatest Fifa U17 World Cup XI? Do you look at their performance at the tournament or who among the talented players made the ultimate breakthrough to global acclaim or the Fifa World Cup?
Nigeria won the inaugural tournament in 1985 when no one knew that two African teams, Nigeria and Guinea traveled to China for what was then known as the Fifa Kodak U16 World Cup, but both came back as heroes with Nigeria overcoming Guinea on penalties after a 1-1 draw in the semifinals en route beating Germany 2-0 in the finals.
So you can imagine that to select the greatest XI, you would have to have seen every one of them. The Golden Eaglets as the Nigerian team became known narrowly lost to the Soviet Union on penalties in the next edition in Canada 1987, but would win again in Japan 1993, South Korea 2007, UAE 2013, and Peru 2015 to become the most successful team with five titles. Nigeria also got to the finals three more times losing to USSR in Canada in 1987, France in Trinidad and Tobago in 2001, and at home to Switzerland in Nigeria 2009.
Ghana have won the title twice in 1991 inspired by the prodigious talents of one of the world’s most heralded teenage footballers, Nii Odartey Lamptey and Sammy Kuffuor, and also in 1995 with a team that contained Emmanuel Bentil and future Ghana captain, Stephen Appiah. Ghana lost to Nigeria in the 1993 finals, and again to Brazil in Egypt 1997.
African players have also been honoured with Golden Boot awards, Golden Balls and Golden Gloves for outstanding performance, and most times when pitched against the best talent from Europe and South America who became global superstars. You will recognise some of them who have become household names in world football and many more who just didn’t make the cut, So, here is a list of some of the top performers in the various editions including the award winners to choose from.
THE GOALKEEPERS:
Lucky Agbonsebafe (Nigeria -1985)
Ben Owu (Ghana – 1991)
Andrew Aikhomogbe (Nigeria 1995)
Michael Abu(Ghana 1995)
Osei Boateng (Ghana – 1997)
Bassey Akpan (Nigeria 2001)
Dele Alampasu (Nigeria 2013) – Golden Glove 2013
Samuel Diarra (Mali-2015) – Golden Glove 2015
Lucky Agbonsebafe was top class in China 85 with Nigeria, but it was Dele Alampasu from Nigeria’s winning team of 2013 who won the golden gloves, and there have been a series of Nigerian goalkeepers like Lemmy Isah, Andrew Aikhompogbe However, Dele Alampasu for Nigeria in 2013 and Samuel Diara of Mali in 2015 were voted best goalkeepers in the World Cup in those years when the golden gloves were awarded to them.
A few other Keepers like Nigeria’s Lemmy Isa in 1987, Andrew Aikhomogbe in 1995, Bassey Akpan in 2001 gained wide acclaim for their heroics as did Ghana’s Ben Owu in 1991, Michael Abu in 1995 and Osei Boateng in 1997
DEFENCE:
Nduka Ugbade (Nigeria) – 1985
Pet Peter Ogaba (Nigeria – 1987)
Isaac Asare (Ghana) -1991 & 1993
Mobi Oparaku (Nigeria) – 1993
Celestine Babayaro (Nigeria) – 1997
Bin Binebi Numa (Nigeria) – 1985
Kingsley Aikhonbare (Nigeria) – 1985
Sammy Kufuor (Ghana) – 1991 & 1993
Ab Abdoulaye Camara (Mali – 1997)
Michael Essien (Ghana) – 2003
KenKenneth Omeruo (Nigeria – 2009)
Frank Kessie (Ivory Coast – 2013) Abdoulaye
Isaac Asare (Ghana) from their cup-winning team of 1991 is one of the elite list of players who featured in more than one tournament. Nigeria’s Mobi Oparaku was brilliant in the 1993 World Cup, but Asare gets the nod.
Celestine Babayaro shone brightly on the left back, and he was soon on the way to Europe with Anderlecht but his move to Chelsea and later Newcastle United really cemented his legacy especially his heroics with Nigeria’s Olympic Gold medal team at Atlanta 96. However, could Nduka Ugbade, the Captain of the 1985 squad be preferred to Babayaro?
The winning partnership of the Nigerian team in 1985 featuring Binebi Numa and Kingsley Akhionbare was rock solid and dominant.
Sammy Kuffuor from Ghana became one of the top defenders in Europe with Bayern Munich winning the Uefa Champions League in 2001, and famously losing in the dramatic 1999 finals against Manchester United but it was at the Fifa U17 World Cup that he showed some of his qualities
Michael Essien is best remembered as the box-to-box midfielder with Chelsea’s all conquering teams between 2 and 2 but he was initially a centre-back for Ghana’s U17 team that won the World Cup in 1999. Then of course, Frank Kessie who has been a big hit in Europe with AC Milan as a midfielder was a defender for Ivory Coast in 2013
MIDFIELD:
Fatai Atere (Nigeria – 1985 & 1987)
MicMichael Basole (Ivory Coast – 1987)
Serge Maguy (Cote d’ Ivoire – 1987)
Mohammed Gargo (Ghana) -1991 & 1993
Daniel Addo( Ghana – 1991, 1993)
Pascal Ojigwe (Nigeria 1993)
Wilson Oruma (Nigeria) – 1993 -Golden Boot 2007 – 6 goals
Stephen Appiah (Ghana – 1995)
Emmanuel Bentil(Ghana 1995)
Stephen Appiah (Ghana 1995)
Seydou Keita (Mali) – 1997 )
Mamadou Diarra (Mali-1997)
Femi Opabunmi (Nigeria – 2001) – Silver Boot 2001 – 5 goals
John Obi Mikel (Nigeria) – 2003
Sofyan Amrabat (Morrocco – 2013)
Kelechi Iheanacho (Nigeria) – 2013 – Golden Ball 2013/Silver Boot(6 goals, 7 assists) – Kelechi Nwakali (Nigeria) – 2015 – Golden Ball 2015
The choice of a three-man midfield will be very difficult given the talent from Africa in these series.
Mohammed Gargo, Seydou Keita and Kelechi Iheanacho have strong cases but how do you leave out Wilson Oruma who was Captain of the Nigerian winning team of 1993 alongside Nwankwo Kanu, Oruma also emerged as the tournament top scorer winning the Golden Boot?
Seydou Keita shone like a million stars in Egypt where Ronaldinho for Brazil, Xavi and Iker Casillas from Spain, Sebastian Dassler, Roman Weidenfeller, and Sebastian Kehl for Germany, Argentina’s Gabriel Milito, Ernesto Farias and Luciano Galletti were just some of the big stars.
His Teammate, Mamadou Diarra proved quite astute in defensive midfield allowing Keita to flourish
Pascal Karibe Ojigwe was the strongman of that Nigerian midfield and it was he who contained the dynamic Daniel Addo of Ghana who was voted MVP for Ghana in 1993, so Karibe definitely has a case but Addo was Ghana’s midfield general for two tournaments.
Future Ghana Captain, Stephen Appiah held forth for the Black Meteors in Ecuador alongside Captain, Emmanuel Bentil
John Obi Mikel won the Silver Ball at the Fifa U20 World Cup in the Netherlands in 2005 but it was at the Fifa U17 World Cup in Finland that the World took notice of his prodigious talent. However, he does not make the all-time team probably because he and his colleagues crashed out of the group stages without losing a game.
Kelechi Iheanacho emerged as a forward for Man City and Leicester but at the Fifa U17 World Cup in the UAE in 2013, he was the quintessential attacking midfielder for a triumphant Nigerian side. Iheanacho scored but his creativity behind Isaac Promise and Taiwo Awoniyi earned him the golden ball. Morocco’s Sofyan Amrabat was one of the stars of Qatar 2022 Fifa World Cup but we got glimpses of his quality in the same tournament in the UAE in 2013.
FORWARDS:
Joseph Babatunde(Nigeria 1985)
Philip Osondu (Nigeria 1987) – Golden Ball 1987
Moussa Traore(Ivory Coast -1987) – Golden Ball 1987/Golden Boot – 1987 – Victor Ikpeba(Nigeria -1989)
Yaw Preko (Ghana – 1989, 1991)
Nii Lamptey (Ghana – 1989, 1991)
Emmanuel Duah (Ghana – 1991, 1993)
Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria – 1993) – Silver Boot 1993 – 5 goals
Wilfred Sanou (Burkina Faso – 2001)
Souleymane Coulibaly (Cote d’ Ivoire) – Golden Boot 2011 – 9 goals – Chrisantus Macaulay (Nigeria – 2007) – Golden Boot 2007
Ransford Osei (Ghana) – 2007 – Silver Boot -6 goals
Yousef Msakni (Tunisia) – 2007
Sani Emmanuel (Nigeria 2009) – Golden Ball 2009
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria – 2015) – Golden Boot 2015
There have been some phenomenal goal scorers from Africa throughout the Fifa U17 World Cup history, and for good measure with African teams winning 7 titles and losing in 6 finals. Ghana’s Nii Odartey Lamptey was touted as the next Pele when he showed up at 14 years old for Ghana in 1989, and he was key to their title win in 1991, alongside Yaw Preko.
Nwankwo Kanu in all his height and silky skills first enthralled the world in Japan in 199 inspiring Nigeria to their second Fifa U17 World title with a win over Ghana. Oruma won the golden boots for that tournament but Kanu was the pivot for the attack.
Souleymane Coulibaly of Cote d’ Ivoire emerged as the top scorer and Golden Boot winner in 2011 with 9 goals following on from the heroics of his fellow Ivorian Moussa Traore who was both joint Golden Ball winner with Nigeria’s Philip Osondu and joint top scorer with the Soviet Union’s Yuri Nikiforov in 1987.
Victor Osimhen is still painting Europe red with his goals for Napoli but in 2015, he scored 10 goals in far away Peru to lead Nigeria to their 5th title, a tournament that featured Christian Pulisic of the USA, Eder Militao of Brazil, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Tom Davies of England and Dayot Upamecano of France. Osimhen’s compatriot, Chrisantus Macaulay was top scorer 8 years earlier in South Korea 2017, in a tournament that had the likes of David De Gea in goal for Spain and tournament MVP, Toni Kroos of Germany. There is also Ransford Osei of Ghana who was the second top scorer in 2007 behind Nigeria’s Chrisantus Macaulay, and there was, of course, Tunisia’s pinup Boy, Yosef Msakni on parade in that tournament.
Sani Emmanuel came off the bench for Nigeria most times at the Fifa U17 World Cup in Nigeria 2009, but his athleticism and goals propelled him to the tournament golden ball in a tournament that included Neymar, Philip Coutinho, Allison and Casemiro for Brazil, Granit Xhaka for Switzerland and Germany’s Marc Andre Ter Stegen, Shkodran Mustafi, Bernd Leno, Kevin Volland and Mario Götze, Argentina’s Emiliano Martinez and Nicolas Tagliafico and the Netherlands Stefan de Vrij.
THE AFRICAN GREATEST FIFA U17 WORLD CUP XI
So, here we go, the difficult task of selecting Africa’s greatest XI, and a substitute team. Take a look and tell us if you agree. If not, who should be there and who should not be in the selection?
GOALKEEPER– Lucky Agbonsebafe(Nigeria 1985)
DEFENDERS – Issac Asare(Ghana)
Binebi Numa(Nigeria 1985)
Kingsley Akhionbare(Nigeria 1985)
Celestine Babayaro(Nigeria 1993) –
MIDFIELD:
Mohammed Gargo(Ghana )
Kelechi Iheanacho(Nigeria 2013) Seydou Keita(Mali 2007)
FORWARD:
Victor Osimhen (Nigeria 2015)
Nwankwo Kanu (Nigeria 1993)
Nii Lamptey (Ghana 1989, 1991)
SUBSTITUTES:
Goalkeeper:
Samuel Diarra (Mali-2015)
DEFENDERS:
Musa Mohammed (Nigeria 2013)
Michael Essien (Ghana 1999)
Sammy Kuffuor(Ghana Nigeria 1985)
Nduka Ugbade (Nigeria – 1985)
MIDFIELD:
Michael Bassole (Ivory Coast – 1987)
Kelechi Nwakali(Nigeria 2015)
Wilson Oruma(Nigeria 1993)
FORWARD:
Philip Osondu(Nigeria 1987)
Moussa Traore (Cote d’ Ivoire – 1987)
Chrisantus Macaulay – (Nigeria 2007)
Source: Norvanreports