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Mane, Salah and More -- Six Stars to Watch at the Cup of Nations

Liverpool's Sadio Mane, who played in the Senegal team that lost the 2019 final. Oli SCARFF AFP/File
Liverpool's Sadio Mane, who played in the Senegal team that lost the 2019 final. Oli SCARFF AFP/File
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Mane, Salah and More -- Six Stars to Watch at the Cup of Nations

Liverpool's Sadio Mane, who played in the Senegal team that lost the 2019 final. Oli SCARFF AFP/File
Liverpool's Sadio Mane, who played in the Senegal team that lost the 2019 final. Oli SCARFF AFP/File

The Africa Cup of Nations begins in Cameroon on Sunday with the continent's top-ranked side Senegal seen as the team to beat alongside reigning champions Algeria.

AFP Sport picks out six stars to watch at the tournament:

Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting (Bayern Munich and CameroonChoupo-Moting was dismissed at times during his two-year stint at Paris Saint-Germain, where he was a back-up in attack to superstars Neymar and Kylian Mbappe. Yet he still popped up with some important goals and has netted 17 times in 44 appearances since signing for Bayern Munich in 2020.

The 32-year-old, who stands 1.91m tall, was born in Germany and notably played for Hamburg and Schalke at the start of his career before a stint in the Premier League at Stoke City.

Eligible for Cameroon through his father, he represented the Indomitable Lions at the 2010 and 2014 World Cups and captained them at the AFCON in 2015 and 2017. He did not go in 2017, when Cameroon won the trophy in Gabon, but is the biggest name in the hosts' squad this time as they look to win the trophy for the sixth time.

Sadio Mane (Liverpool and Senegal)Senegal are the leading African side according to the FIFA rankings and Liverpool forward Mane is their star player. A former African Footballer of the Year who also came fourth in the Ballon d'Or rankings in 2019, Mane will be hugely missed by Liverpool as he heads to Cameroon -– he has 10 goals this season for his club.

However, the 29-year-old is desperate to win African football's biggest prize after Senegal lost to Algeria in the 2019 final. The west African country has never won the Cup of Nations.

Achraf Hakimi (Paris Saint-Germain and Morocco)At 23, right-back Hakimi is starring for PSG having already played for Real Madrid, Borussia Dortmund and Inter Milan, and is arguably the best attacking full-back on the planet today. He will therefore be the man to watch in a Morocco side among the leading contenders to go all the way.

Hakimi, who joined PSG from Inter last July for 60 million euros ($71 million), is in theory a defender, but he is chiefly a key creative and attacking outlet down the right. Born and brought up in Madrid to Moroccan parents, Hakimi was just 18 when he scored on his competitive debut for the Atlas Lions.

Mohamed Salah (Liverpool and Egypt)Many scoffed when Salah came seventh in the final Ballon d’Or rankings in November. It could be argued there is no better player in the world right now than the 29-year-old forward, who has scored 54 times for Liverpool since the start of last season.

Jurgen Klopp's side will miss him and Mane while they are gone for up to a month, but Salah carries the hopes and dreams of 100 million Egyptians on his shoulders. He is the headline act in a squad made up largely of home-based players as The Pharaohs chase a record-extending eighth African crown.

Salah played in the team that lost the 2017 final to Cameroon before losing to South Africa as hosts in the last 16 in 2019.

Riyad Mahrez (Manchester City and Algeria)Another former African footballer of the year, Mahrez captained Algeria to victory in 2019 and is again the star man as they look to defend their title.

The winger has been in fine form for Manchester City, with 13 goals in 25 games this season for the Premier League leaders. Now 30, Mahrez was born and brought up in the Paris suburbs but Algeria was the land of his late father's birth and Riyad made his international debut just before the 2014 World Cup, not long after he first moved to England with Leicester City.

Sebastien Haller (Ajax and Ivory Coast)The tall 27-year-old striker has been one of the stars of this season's UEFA Champions League, scoring 10 goals in the group stage for Ajax. He became just the second player to score in all six group games, following Cristiano Ronaldo in 2017.

Haller, who has 22 goals this season, joined Ajax last January from West Ham United for 22.5 million euros ($27.5m), calling time on a disappointing spell in England to return to the Dutch league, where he was based previously.

Born and brought up in the Paris suburbs, he played for France Under-21s but opted to represent the Ivory Coast –- the land of his mother's birth -– after getting the call aged 26.

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African Champions Pyramids Hit Back to Draw in Morocco

An aerial view shows Cairo's traffic with buildings and houses, through the window of a Turkish Airlines plane, in Cairo, Egypt March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
An aerial view shows Cairo's traffic with buildings and houses, through the window of a Turkish Airlines plane, in Cairo, Egypt March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
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African Champions Pyramids Hit Back to Draw in Morocco

An aerial view shows Cairo's traffic with buildings and houses, through the window of a Turkish Airlines plane, in Cairo, Egypt March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh
An aerial view shows Cairo's traffic with buildings and houses, through the window of a Turkish Airlines plane, in Cairo, Egypt March 12, 2026. REUTERS/Amr Abdallah Dalsh

Pyramids of Egypt preserved an unbeaten record in defense of the CAF Champions League title by coming from behind to draw 1-1 at FAR Rabat of Morocco late on Friday.

The home team were ahead after just eight minutes of the quarter-final first leg when Ahmed Hammoudan scored his first goal of the campaign.

Mahmoud Zalaka equalized in the seventh minute of the second half in a match staged behind closed doors due to crowd trouble during an earlier FAR match.

The second leg is set for March 21 in Cairo and the overall winners will face another Moroccan club, Renaissance Berkane, or Al Hilal of Sudan in the semi-finals during April.

Pyramids and FAR also clashed in the quarter-finals last season with the Cairo club winning 4-3 on aggregate.

Surprise winners of the premier African club competition last season, Pyramids have won eight matches and drawn three in pursuit of back-to-back titles.

They pocketed four million dollars (3.5 mn euros) after defeating Mamelodi Sundowns of South Africa in the 2024/25 final.

This week, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) announced that first prize had been increased by 50% to six million dollars. The runners-up prize is unchanged at two million dollars.

FAR rattled Pyramids by taking an early lead amid the silence of the Olympic Stadium in the Moroccan capital, AFP reported.

A pass into space behind the Pyramids defense found Hammoudan, who raced in from the left flank and beat veteran goalkeeper Ahmed El Shenawy with an angled shot into the far corner.

Both sides had spells of territorial dominance in the opening half, but there were no further goals before half-time with few clearcut chances.

Pyramids pressed for an equalizer from the restart and were rewarded on 52 minutes when Zalaka claimed his second goal of the African campaign.

FAR goalkeeper Ahmed Tagnaouti parried a close-range shot from Ahmed Atef after a corner and Zalaka reacted quickest to poke the loose ball into the net.

Mahmoud Mayele, the Democratic Republic of Congo striker and leading scorer in the Champions League last season with nine goals, was substituted after 83 minutes.

After scoring three goals in qualifiers this season, the 31-year-old has gone eight matches without adding to his tally.

The quarter-final in Rabat kicked off only at 2200 local time due to the Muslim holy month of Ramadan.

Sports

Verstappen Says Red Bull Car ‘Completely Undrivable' after Chinese GP Qualifying

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands waits inside his car during the qualifying session of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands waits inside his car during the qualifying session of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool)
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Verstappen Says Red Bull Car ‘Completely Undrivable' after Chinese GP Qualifying

Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands waits inside his car during the qualifying session of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool)
Red Bull driver Max Verstappen of the Netherlands waits inside his car during the qualifying session of the Chinese Formula One Grand Prix at the Shanghai International Circuit, in Shanghai, China, Saturday, March 14, 2026. (AP Photo/Andy Wong, Pool)

Red Bull's Max Verstappen said his RB22 Formula One car is "completely undrivable," after qualifying eighth for Sunday's Chinese Grand Prix and a torrid sprint race earlier in the day.

"We changed a lot on the car, and it makes zero difference," the four-time world champion told reporters after setting a fastest lap that was just over one second slower than pole-sitter Kimi Antonelli, with the two Mercedes cars securing a front row ⁠lockout.

"The whole weekend ⁠we've been off, the car is completely undrivable," Reuters quoted the Dutchman as saying. "Every lap is like survival."

The Red Bull driver sunk to as low as 14th place after having qualified eighth in Saturday's earlier 19-lap sprint race around the Shanghai International ⁠Circuit, finally finishing in 9th and behind sister team Racing Bulls' Liam Lawson.

"It's incredibly tough to drive. There's no balance, I cannot lean on the car, every lap is a fight," the 71-times race winner told Sky Sports F1, having come into the weekend hoping to make more of an impact after making his way from the back of the grid to finish sixth ⁠at ⁠the previous race in Australia.

This is the first season Red Bull have run their own engine, having partnered with Ford, which ended a very successful six-year streak with Honda.

Verstappen said the new power unit was partly to blame, but added that the poor performance was down to a multitude of factors.

"From lap one of these new regulations, I have not enjoyed this car for sure," he added. "It's not going to be a fun race."

Sports

Sabalenka, Rybakina Set Up Blockbuster Indian Wells Final

Mar 13, 2026; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) shakes hands with Linda Noskova (CZE) after winning her the semi final match during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Mar 13, 2026; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) shakes hands with Linda Noskova (CZE) after winning her the semi final match during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
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Sabalenka, Rybakina Set Up Blockbuster Indian Wells Final

Mar 13, 2026; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) shakes hands with Linda Noskova (CZE) after winning her the semi final match during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images
Mar 13, 2026; Indian Wells, CA, USA; Aryna Sabalenka (BEL) shakes hands with Linda Noskova (CZE) after winning her the semi final match during the BNP Paribas Open at the Indian Wells Tennis Garden. Mandatory Credit: Jayne Kamin-Oncea-Imagn Images

Aryna Sabalenka and Elena Rybakina moved into the Indian Wells final with straight-sets victories over Linda Noskova and Elina Svitolina on Friday, setting up a rematch of their Australian Open Grand Slam title clash.

World number one Sabalenka has been in formidable form this season, winning 16 of her first 17 matches, with her only defeat coming against Rybakina in the Melbourne showpiece in January.

She powered past Noskova 6-3 6-4 and will compete for the Indian Wells crown for the third time in four years, seeking her maiden title in the Californian desert.

"It feels great, I've lost a couple of finals here, so I'll make sure that I'm more than ready on Sunday. I'll bring my best tennis and this is the year," Reuters quoted Sabalenka as saying.

Twice ⁠Grand Slam champion ⁠Rybakina overcame a stiff test to see off Ukraine's Svitolina 7-5 6-4, staying on track to claim a second title in the event.

Sunday's title match will mark the third final between Rybakina and Sabalenka in the last six months. Kazakh Rybakina has won their previous two encounters, lifting the WTA Finals trophy in November and securing the Australian Open title.

"I'm going to fight as much as I can," Rybakina said.

"Hopefully ⁠it's going to be a great match."

Sabalenka seized early control, breaking for a 3-1 lead after a Noskova forehand sailed long, and then the Czech's inconsistent serving - including a double fault - handed the Belarusian another break for 5-1.

Noskova briefly halted the momentum by breaking back when Sabalenka served for the set, only the second time that the top seed had dropped her serve during the tournament.

Sabalenka quickly regrouped when she served again at 5-3, sealing the opener with an ace, while Noskova won just half of the points behind her own serve.

A break in the opening game of the second set proved enough for Sabalenka to ⁠seal the victory ⁠over the 21-year-old Noskova, who had just one chance to break back but could not convert against the Belarusian's formidable power and serving.

"Serve was the biggest thing in this match," Sabalenka added. "(Noskova) is an incredible player, I felt that if I give her a small opportunity she will take it."

It will be the 14th WTA 1000 final of Sabalenka's career.

Rybakina struggled early in her semi-final as Svitolina fired four aces in the opening set. But unforced errors from the Ukrainian opened the door for Rybakina, who seized control with her serve and dictated the remainder of the contest.

Rybakina surged ahead 4-0 in the second set, and though Svitolina attempted to claw her way back Rybakina steadied herself to protect the lead and finish the job.