Africa's first XI for round one

Africa's first XI for round one



This Fifa World Cup has been filled with impressive statistics and figures. Already a total of 136 goals have been scored after the group stage averaging 2.83 goals per match.

It is interesting to note that the Iranians left the tournament with their heads held high, emerging as the best defending team after the group stage. Team Melli made 151 defending attempts that included 72 tackles, 12 saves and 67 clearances.

For the first time in World Cup history, Africa will have two teams in the knockout stage - Algeria and Nigeria. Supersport.com picks an Africa XI based on their performance after the group stage.

Vincent Enyeama: Enyeama has a six-save-per-game ratio and two clean sheets. He has also conceded one goal per game - all three in Nigeria's last group game against Argentina. After the second round of group stage games, he had a 100 per cent save record without conceding, before a Lionel Messi-inspired Argentina ended that. Cameroon shot-stopper, Charles Itandje, comes close to Enyeama with 4.7 saves per game despite shipping in nine goals. Enyeama is the highest ranked African player at this tournament on the Castrol Index with a score of 9.35.

Serge Aurier: The Ivorian right-back was a massive presence in defence for the Elephants, winning 23 duels and eight out of the nine tackles he made. He also made nine interceptions. The Toulouse defender's attacking qualities came to the fore. He completed four of his 17 crosses and assisted both of Ivory Coast's goals in their 2-1 win over Japan.

Rafik Halliche: The 27-year-old Algerian centre-back has proven to be a defensive leader at this tournament. Halliche has been the mainstay in Algeria's back four, winning 12 duels including five aerial challenges. He showed his aerial strength in the game against South Korea when he powered home a header from Abdelmoumene Djabou for his team's second goal in their 4-2 win in Porto Alegre.

Kenneth Omeruo: The Chelsea defender has been one of the standout centre-backs at this World Cup. He has won 21 duels and 10 out of the 11 tackles he made. The 20-year-old has also made 24 clearances, seven interceptions and blocked three shots. Omeruo is a defence man through and through.

Arthur Boka: The VfB Stuttgart defender came good for Ivory Coast from his left-back position winning five tackles out of seven and 11 duels. He had the best defensive stats and looked better than most of his African left-back counterparts.

Yacine Brahimi: He is one of the driving forces in the Algerian squad and during the group stage showed he can be a box-to-box man. Brahimi made 69 touches per game, scored one goal and has one assist. His pass accuracy is 81 per cent. He does not lack defensive qualities too as he has a 100 per cent tackle accuracy of five out of five. He has also won 16 duels including two aerially.

Sofiane Feghouli: The Valencia midfielder has played all 270 minutes at this tournament for Algeria, scoring once and assisting once. He has made 90 passes with a pass accuracy of 80 per cent. Feghouli has been impressive, winning 21 duels and remains the main man in the Algerian midfield.

Kwadwo Asamoah: One of the tournament's tireless workers and underrated midfielders. The 25-year-old played all 270 minutes for Ghana's Black Stars and at some point looked like their left-back, winning 17 duels, blocking a shot, winning two tackles and making six clearances. Asamoah had an assist and a pass accuracy of 80 per cent.

Andre Ayew: He was Africa's most outstanding number 10 in the group stage. The Ghana midfielder made a total of 76 passes which represents 84 per cent pass accuracy. Ayew proved to be lethal in front of goal, scoring twice from three attempts at goal. The Olympique Marseille man showed he is an all-round footballer with impressive defensive qualities. He made four interceptions, won 17 duels and four tackles out of the six he made.

Islam Slimani: The striker has played all three of Algeria's group matches but featured in 203 minutes of this World Cup so far. He has scored twice so far from six shots taken and has one assist to his name. He has a 50 per cent shot accuracy.

Ahmed Musa: The CSKA Moscow striker has played in all of Nigeria's three group matches and has scored twice - both against former world champions, Argentina. Interestingly, Musa has the best shot accuracy among the Nigerian strikers, at 83 per cent. He has attempted six shots and five have been on target.

The Africa XI

Vincent Enyeama; Serge Aurier, Rafik Halliche, Kenneth Omeruo, Arthur Boka; Yacine Brahimi, Sofiane Feghouli, Kwadwo Asamoah, Andre Ayew; Islam Slimani, Ahmed Musa