Ndidi is only Nigerian in France Football’s African team of the year

Wilfred Ndidi has been named in France Football magazine’s 2018 African team of the year.

The Leicester City midfielder is the only Nigerian on the list published on Wednesday.

Ndidi was praised by the magazine for his ball-winning abilities. He is paired with Ghana’s Thomas Partey and Morocco’s Hakim Ziyech in the midfield.

Senegal’s Saido Mane and Egypt forward, Mohamed Salah, are the two other England-based players in the squad.

“He is certainly not the most spectacular player of his selection or even Leicester. But in his record, the former defensive midfielder Genk has also settled in the midfield and statistics in the Premier League are exceptional, both in terms of tackles than balls recovered,” the magazine stated.

“As such, the young Nigerian was named by the CAF among the best hopes of the year. At 21, his club has extended it (his contract) until 2024 but he is not sure he has totally secured his super middle.”

Goalkeeper
Andre Onana – Cameroon, Ajax

Defenders
Yousef Atal – Algeria, Nice
Kalidou Koulibaly – Senegal, Napoli
Manu Da Costa – Morocco, Istanbul
Achraf Hakimi – Morocco, Dortmund

Midfielders
Thomas Partey – Ghana, Atletico Madrid
Wilfred Ndidi – Nigeria, Leicester City
Hakim Ziyech – Morocco, Ajax

Forwards
Riyad Mahrez – Algeria, Man City
Sadio Mane – Senegal, Liverpool
Mohamed Salah – Egypt, Liverpool

Substitutes
Samatta (Tanzania, Genk), Gana Gueye (Sénégal, Everton), Pépé (Côte d’Ivoire, Lille), Aubameyang (Gabon, Arsenal), Bounou (Morocco, Girona), Badri (Tunisia, Espérance), Toko Ekambi (Cameroon, Villarreal).