Young stars lighting up the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 AFCON Morocco 2026
Two rounds into the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 Africa Cup of Nations Morocco 2026, the tournament has already begun to reveal the next generation of African football stars.
With places in the knockout stages and qualification for the FIFA U-17 World Cup now firmly within reach for several nations, the pressure and intensity of the competition have risen sharply across the four groups.
Defending champions Morocco, impressive Tanzania, disciplined Uganda and traditional powerhouses Senegal, Mali, Cameroon and Côte d’Ivoire have all shown flashes of quality, but beyond the results, it is the emergence of individual brilliance that has captured attention in Rabat.
Across packed stadiums and the tournament’s new festival-style environment at the Mohammed VI Football Complex, young players have already produced moments of creativity, composure and maturity beyond their years.
Some have arrived in Morocco with growing reputations from elite academies in Africa and Europe, while others are using this stage to announce themselves to the continent for the very first time.
From commanding defenders and technically gifted midfielders to explosive wingers and clinical forwards, the TotalEnergies CAF U-17 AFCON has once again proven why it remains one of the most important platforms for discovering future global stars.
Below are some of the standout young talents already making headlines at the tournament in Morocco.
Ibrahim Rabbaj – Morocco
Ibrahim Rabbaj started at the Crystal Palace academy until he was 11, and then moved to Chelsea, where he is currently being developed. He has also been with Barcelona at La Masia.
The 17-year-old Rabbaj is an exciting technically gifted left footed attacking midfielder who likes dribbling. He is effective playing as a number 10, but sometimes drifts to the right midfield area, which then allows him to cut inside and dip brilliant crosses into the box or go for goal himself.
He is a confident player who has already proven to be the spark that ignites the young Atlas Lions at this competition.
Alain Traore – Cameroon
Traore may only be 16-years-old, but he is the main source of goals for Cameroon, and he showed this with a stunner against Tanzania in the build-up to the tournament.
He is a strong striker who can also play as a winger. His calmness in the box, and ability to use both feet even though he is predominantly right footed makes him a huge asset for Cameroon.
He has shown great positioning, and coupled with his blistering pace, he is seen as one of the most exciting young strikers to come out of Cameroon. His talents are currently nurtured by Tiouh Djitta Humanitarian Academy based in Douala.
Lwandiso Radebe – South Africa
Radebe is one of the most talented, and most exciting goalkeepers in his age group. He already has international tournament experience having already played at the U17 World Cup for South Africa last year in November.
When Amajimbos beat Bolivia 3-1, the KwaZulu-Natal born defender who currently plays for Mamelodi Sundowns, was in goals. He went as far as being picked in the top 20 shortlist of the best goalkeepers at the tournament. He made seven saves at the tournament, which is the most by any African goalkeeper at the tournament.
The young keeper joined Sundowns from SuperSport United, and sees himself following in the same path as Bafana Bafana number one Ronwen Williams who also started his career at SuperSport before moving to Sundowns.
Gui Ange Nomane – Cote d’Ivoire
Nomane is a left-footed right winger for the Little Elephants. He currently plays for Yamoussoukro in Cote d’Ioivre. He already has a goal at the tournament, having scored in the 2-0 win over Cameroon.
He is equipped with speed and dribbling ability and raw speed. This makes him difficult to contain, especially in 1v1 situations. His confidence in tight spaces makes him one of the players to watch at this tournament. He also has wonderful vision and composure in the final third, and this allows him to not score for his team, but also create goals for his teammates.
Ibrahim Diarra – Mali
Diarra currently plays for Stade Malien in Mali. He is not to be confused with another Ibrahim Diarra, who plays for Barcelona Atletic and the Mali U23 team.
This new Diarra is also a striker who has great pace and powerful physique. He is tipped to become one of the best strikers in Mali. What makes him even more deadly is his aerial ability that allows him to score some brilliant headers.
Antonio Nhampule – Mozambique
The powerful centre-forward is currently playing club football for Eintracht Frankfurt in Germany. He has been with the German side’s youth academy since 2023.
Having first played for the Germany Youth Teams, he switched allegiances to Mozambique, and joined them in camp in the build-up for the current TotalEnergies CAF U17 AFCON where he scored on debut in the friendly against Morocco.
Antonio has a powerful physique, and has been dominating players at his level with power and strength.
Mahdi Maghlout – Algeria
Mahdi Maghlout is currently playing for the Inter Milan youth team in Italy as a left winger with a left forward.
He is brilliant at taking on players, and likes playing on the shoulder of the defenders. His physique makes it easy for him to not only keep the ball, but win possession from his opponents and create big moments out of nothing.
The 17-year-old is an imposing figure standing at 1.85 metres tall, and he is still developing. What makes him different is that he is brilliant dribbler despite his height. He is quick, and is able to turn to any direction any high speed with ball at feet.
He is also a prolific goalscorer who is widely expected to be among the top scorers at this tournament.
Abdoulaye Diop – Senegal
The 17-year-old is a promising midfielder who can play as a holding midfielder or in the attacking role. He has great vision that makes him spot good areas to play the ball even before he receives it.
He is not necessarily quick, but his ability to protect the ball, and know where to play him helps make up for his lack of pace.
Diop’s intelligence and knowledge to read the game allows him to direct Senegal’s tactical flow, often changing points of attack for the young Teranga Lions.
Amir Zaafran Fathalla Abouelezz - Egypt
The 16-year-old Abou Elezz is a product of the Monza youth academy in Italy. He is a strong centre-forward who is already making waves for the Egyptian junior teams.
He is the top scorer at Monza with nine goals from 17 appearances.
Elezz was recently promoted to the reserve team, where he played five games in the Primavera 1 League.
