SIX GAMES MISSED: THE FULL LIST OF PREMIER LEAGUE PLAYERS HEADING TO AFCON 2025
Sunderland loses five players as AFCON 2025 begins. We detail every club's absentee list, including key stars like Salah, Mbeumo, and the Fulham trio.
The 2025 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) starts on December 21st, meaning several Premier League players will head off in winter to play for their countries.
The tournament goes from December 21st to January 18th, 2026. Depending on how far their country goes, players could miss up to six Premier League games.
FIFA said recently that clubs can keep players until December 15th before they have to leave for the tournament.
Several Premier League clubs will lose players to AFCON this winter. Here's a list of players going on international duty, according to Flashscore:
Arsenal - zero players
The Gunners don't have any African players in their first-team squad.
Aston Villa—one player
Winger Evann Guessand often plays for the Ivory Coast and is likely to join the current AFCON champions.
Bournemouth—one player
Amine Adli, who signed this summer, should be picked for Morocco, which is hosting the tournament. But Bournemouth will keep Antoine Semenyo because Ghana didn't make it to the event.
Brentford—two players
Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso) and Frank Onyeka (Nigeria) might be called up by their countries. Onyeka is on the Super Eagles' preliminary list.
Brighton - one player
Carlos Baleba hasn't had a great season, but is still on Cameroon's squad for AFCON 2025/26. Yankuba Minteh will stay with Brighton since Gambia didn't qualify.
Burnley—three players
Lyle Foster is on South Africa's team, and Axel Tuanzebe was picked for DR Congo.
Hannibal Mejbri is also going to play for Tunisia.
Chelsea - zero players
Chelsea doesn't have any African players in their first-team squad.
Crystal Palace—one player
The Eagles have a few first-team players who could have gone to Morocco, but some were injured before the tournament.
Chadi Riad (Morocco) and Cheick Doucoure (Mali) haven't played for the club this season and will miss AFCON. Ismaila Sarr (Senegal) was injured in their December game against Manchester United, so it's unclear if he'll be ready.
Christantus Uche was on Nigeria's preliminary list but didn't make the final team.
Everton—two players
Iliman Ndiaye and Idrissa Gueye are regular players for Senegal and should join the team before the tournament.
Adam Aznou won't be playing for Morocco, the host country.
Fulham—three players
The Nigerian trio of Alex Iwobi, Calvin Bassey, and Samuel Chukwueze are all on Nigeria's team.
Leeds—zero players
Leeds doesn't have any African players in their first-team squad.
Liverpool—one player
As expected, Mohamed Salah will play for Egypt.
Manchester City—two players
Omar Marmoush will be joining Egypt as well.
Rayan Ait-Nouri hasn't played much recently, but should join Algeria.
Manchester United—three players
Three important players are going to AFCON: Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), and Noussair Mazraoui (Morocco).
Newcastle—zero players
Yoane Wissa would usually play for DR Congo, but he wasn't picked because he's currently injured.
Nottingham Forest—two players
Taiwo Awoniyi was on Nigeria's provisional list, as was Ola Aina. But the defender is expected to be out until January with a hamstring injury, and neither made the final team.
Ibrahim Sangare and Willy Boly will both play for the Ivory Coast.
Sunderland—five players
Sunderland will be the most affected club by AFCON, with five of their first-team players confirmed to leave.
Noah Sadiki and Arthur Masuaku are on DR Congo's team, while Chemsdine Talbi (Morocco), Reinildo Mandava (Mozambique), and Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso) were also picked.
Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast) wasn't called up by his country.
Habib Diarra, the club's record signing, is also expected to join Senegal if he recovers from a groin injury that has kept him out since September.
Tottenham Hotspur—two players
Pape Matar Sarr will likely be picked by Senegal. It's not yet known if Yves Bissouma, who hasn't been playing much, will join Mali.
Mohammed Kudus, a winger, plays for Ghana, but they didn't qualify for the tournament.
West Ham—two players
The Hammers will miss defensive duo Aaron Wan-Bissaka and El Hadji Malick Diouf. Wan-Bissaka has been called up for DR Congo, and Diouf will probably play for Senegal.
Wolves—two players
Only two of a possible five players are set to leave for AFCON. The club is currently at the bottom of the Premier League.
Marshall Munetsi wasn't picked by Zimbabwe, but Tawanda Chirewa will join them. Emmanuel Agbadou was picked by the Ivory Coast.
Tolu Arokodare was on Nigeria's preliminary list but not the final one, and Jackson Tchatchoua wasn't picked by Cameroon.
THOMAS TUCHEL NAMES EXPANDED ENGLAND SQUAD FEATURING FOUR SURPRISE NEW INCLUSIONS
Thomas Tuchel hands maiden England call-ups to James Garner and Jason Steele while omitting Trent Alexander-Arnold.
James Garner from Everton and Brighton’s goalkeeper Jason Steele have earned their first call-ups to the England squad. Alongside them, AC Milan’s defender Fikayo Tomori and Tottenham’s forward Dominic Solanke have also been included. However, Trent Alexander-Arnold and Luke Shaw did not make the cut this time.
Jude Bellingham, despite being sidelined since early February due to a hamstring injury, is still part of the squad. Experienced centre-back Harry Maguire, now 33, has the chance to add to his 64 caps, while 20-year-old Kobbie Mainoo, who started in the Euro 2024 final, is also selected. Both last represented England in September 2024 but have been rewarded for Manchester United’s recent good form, which has lifted them to third place in the Premier League.
Luke Shaw, pushing for inclusion, has been overlooked once again. Instead, Tuchel has called up Newcastle’s Lewis Hall, marking his first call-up since Tuchel took over.
This squad is larger than usual, with players arriving in two phases during the international window. Tuchel explained on the Football Association’s website that the first group includes players who haven’t played much recently, aiming to broaden competition for spots in the upcoming US tour. Then, from Friday to Saturday, another group will join, including some who’ve had a short rest, to mix things up for the match against Japan.
England will face Uruguay at Wembley on March 27, followed by a home game against Japan on March 31. Looking ahead, the World Cup kicks off on June 11 in Canada, Mexico, and the United States, with England considered among the contenders.
Here’s the full squad breakdown:
Goalkeepers: Dean Henderson (Crystal Palace), Jordan Pickford (Everton), James Trafford (Manchester City), Aaron Ramsdale (Newcastle), Jason Steele (Brighton)
Defenders: Dan Burn (Newcastle), Marc Guehi (Crystal Palace), Lewis Hall (Newcastle), Ezri Konsa (Aston Villa), Tino Livramento (Newcastle), Harry Maguire (Manchester United), Nico O’Reilly (Manchester City), Jarell Quansah (Bayer Leverkusen), Djed Spence (Tottenham), John Stones (Manchester City), Fikayo Tomori (AC Milan)
Midfielders: Elliot Anderson (Nottingham Forest), Jude Bellingham (Real Madrid), James Garner (Everton), Jordan Henderson (Brentford), Kobbie Mainoo (Manchester United), Declan Rice (Arsenal), Morgan Rogers (Aston Villa), Adam Wharton (Crystal Palace)
Forwards: Jarrod Bowen (West Ham), Dominic Calvert-Lewin (Leeds), Eberechi Eze (Arsenal), Phil Foden (Manchester City), Anthony Gordon (Newcastle), Harry Kane (Bayern Munich), Noni Madueke (Arsenal), Cole Palmer (Chelsea), Marcus Rashford (Barcelona), Bukayo Saka (Arsenal), Dominic Solanke (Tottenham)
WHY CAF STRIPPED SENEGAL OF THEIR AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS TITLE
Following a final walk-off, Senegal has lost its AFCON trophy in the boardroom, prompting an appeal to CAS by the FSF.
Moussa Niakhate finally spoke out after the Confederation of African Football’s shocking decision to take Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations trophy away. After that wild walk-off in the final against Morocco, CAF backed an appeal and handed the host nation a 3-0 win by default. Senegalese players were furious; who wouldn’t be?
The boardroom decision completely flipped African football on its head. Two months after the final, the CAF Appeal Board tossed out Senegal’s victory and gave Morocco the win. It all started deep into stoppage time when VAR gave Morocco a penalty. Pape Thiaw, Senegal’s manager, lost it and told his players to leave the field. Eventually, they came back and finished the match. Still, officials said the walk-off broke tournament rules, so they took the title away. Brutal.
Niakhate, the 30-year-old defender who was key in Senegal’s backline, got asked about it before Lyon’s Europa League match with Celta. He’d already posted a photo with his medal and the trophy right after the ruling. He made it clear: nothing a boardroom says can erase what happened on the pitch. He said, “Out of respect for the club and with the crucial match in mind, I don’t want to go into too much detail. You saw my reaction on social media; it’s the same today. What I can say is that nothing has changed for me compared to what we went through in January. I’ll have time to talk about it again in due course; for now, I’m going to stay focused on Lyon.”
That final in Rabat was pure chaos, even before Senegal won 1-0 on the field. Most players followed Thiaw down the tunnel, but Sadio Mane stayed, urging his teammates to come back. Brahim Diaz took the penalty but tried a Panenka, and Edouard Mendy caught it easily. The game went to extra time, Papa Gueye scored, and Senegal thought they were champions again. It didn't matter; the walk-off cost them everything. The committee called it a 3-0 forfeit.
It’s harsh for a team that believed they’d gone back-to-back. Niakhate, who started six out of seven games, is now focusing on Lyon’s European campaign. Still, that boardroom drama isn’t going away, not with the international break coming up. Senegal’s already planning to appeal to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.
