The emerging AFCON defenders

Attacking stars often steal the limelight at the Africa Cup of Nations, but in 2015 it is several defensive prospects who have caught the eye.

Diosdado Mbele Mba Mangue is a 17-year-old who earns a few hundred Euros per month from his club, Leones Vegetarianos, in Malabo, but he has been one of the revelations of this Africa Cup of Nations.

Mbele has played at the heart of Equatorial Guinea’s defence and, although he was lucky to escape with a yellow card for his ‘tactical’ foul on Burkina Faso’s Jonathan Pitroipa on Wednesday, he has performed very well.

There were high hopes for another teenager, South Africa’s Rivaldo Coetzee, but he went off on a stretcher early in his team’s first game. The Ghana full-back Baba Rahman has had an outstanding season for Augsburg in the Bundesliga and is apparently wanted by Roma.

Marseille’s Cameroonian Nicolas N’Koulou has been earning rave reviews, and Algeria expect much of Aissa Mandi (Stade Reims) and Faouzi Ghoulam (Napoli).

Mali’s Molla Wague, on loan to Udinese from Granada, has not had a great season with his club but he looked impressive against Cameroon.

What is going on? Is Africa beginning to produce good defenders – something it has never been noted for before?

The list of Africa’s greatest defenders would not be a long one. Sammy Kuffour, the Ghanaian who was a Champions League winner with Bayern Munich and scorer of the goal that won them the Club World Championship in 2001, is out on his own at the top.

He would be followed, in no particular order, by Lucas Radebe (South Africa), Noureddine Naybet (Morocco), Taribo West (Nigeria), Rigobert Song (Cameroon) and Kolo Toure, who is still going strong for Ivory Coast and performed well in their opening game against Guinea.

One man who should know whether defending is becoming more popular on a continent where everyone wants to be a striker is Herve Renard. The Ivory Coast coach fielded three more promising young defenders alongside Toure against Guinea – Serge Aurier of Paris Saint-Germain at right-back, Wilfried Kanon of ADO Den Haag at left-back, and Espanyol's Eric Bailly in the middle. Between them they do not even have a quarter of Toure’s caps.

“Maybe there are more defenders good enough to play in Europe now,” Renard told Goal. “Fifteen years ago speed was not as important as it is now for defenders. They must be fast, as well as physical. Most African defenders are both.

“African defenders are naturally powerful, they have improved the tactical aspect, and we all need fast defenders. That is what has changed.”

The one who stands out to Renard is N’Koulou. “His partnership with Stephen M’Bia [the defensive midfielder just ahead of him] is a perfect combination of skill, power and experience. Sometims N’Koulou doesn’t look like a defender at all – he reminds me of Laurent Blanc.”