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With the 2026 FIFA World Cup behind us, and a whole swathe of African stars having impressed on the grandest stage, ESPN have taken on the foolish task of predicting the continent's best XI for the 2030 tournament in four years' time.
There will surely be injuries, late bloomers, and a handful of players who aren't on our radar at all today -- who could have predicted Vozinha would have been one of the breakout stars of this year's tournament? -- but nevertheless, we've had a go at forecasting our African XI most likely to be present and peaking at the 2030 tournament.
GK: Yahia Fofana
Fofana is already Africa's best goalkeeper behind Yassine Bounou, and at 29, should be entering his prime years come 2030.
He's athletic, imposing, capable of fine reaction saves, has already established himself as the Ivory Coast's No. 1 and has some excellent (young) defensive options ahead of him.
Still at Caykur Rizespor, in Turkey, there's more to come from him at club level, but he's a decent bet to succeed Bounou as Africa's top keeper.
Maduka Okoye or Arthur Okonkwo of Nigeria could be Fofana's closest rivals.
RB: Achraf Hakimi
Hakimi will be 31 in 2030, but there's nothing to suggest he will have surrendered his place as Africa's top rightback, despite potential competition from Wilfried Singo and Guela Doué of the Ivory Coast, or Algeria's Rafik Belghali.
His intelligence, technique, and extraordinary athleticism should ensure he evolves even when his raw acceleration begins to decline, and Hakimi could fulfil multiple different roles in Morocco's starting XI.
He has considerable tournament experience -- both with club and country -- and a World Cup on home soil could be his crowning glory.
CB: Ousmane Diomande
Only 22, and already one of Africa's most complete centrebacks, Diomande should still have two 'peak' World Cups ahead of him.
He's already an African champion with the Ivory Coast, has won league titles in Portugal, and, as with Fofana, should be part of an excellent Elephants defence, where any of Odilon Kossounou, Evan Ndicka or a veteran Emmanuel Agbadou would be an able partner in the backline.
His maturity and mobility are already outstanding, while he still has an enormous ceiling to develop. One senses his next transfer decision will be huge, with prominent rumours at the time of writing of a move to Nottingham Forest.
CB: Calvin Bassey
Already one of the most accomplished and well-rounded defenders in the African game, Nigeria's Bassey will be 30, and should be in his prime, come 2030.
By then, his experience and defensive judgement should converge effectively with his outstanding technical and physical attributes, and he could be set for an exceptional tournament with the Super Eagles (assuming they qualify!).
Like Diomande, one senses that his upcoming club career decisions will be determinant in deciding his standing in the world game in four years' time; he was linked with a move to Internazionale, away from Fulham, during the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year.
LB: Rayan Aït-Nouri
Ait-Nouri played all four of Algeria's matches at the recent World Cup, impressing against Jordan and Switzerland, where he was arguably the Fennecs' best player, after struggling in the opening 3-0 defeat by Argentina.
As he puts an injury-hit first season at Manchester City behind him, we expect him to go from strength to strength, and he can surely reassert himself as Africa's finest in his position.
At 29, he should be in his prime come 2030, particularly if City can help him iron out some of the defensive frailties in his game.
CM: Ayyoub Bouaddi
Bouaddi is one of several players in our team who made ESPN's African XI from the 2026 World Cup, having impressed during his first taste of international football.
He'll only be 22 come the 2030 tournament -- where he'll have the privilege of playing in front of Moroccan fans -- and it's tantalising to imagine how sophisticated he'll be after four more years of development.
Already, Bouaddi is unusually comfortable for one so young when up against more senior, experienced opponents - as he demonstrated against Casemiro at the World Cup - with his calmness and intelligence making him an asset for the Atlas Lions for potentially 15+ more years to come.
He could feasibly be one of the best midfielders in the world by the time the next tournament rolls around.
CM: Christ Inao Oulaï
He's standing in Bouaddi's shadow at the moment, but Inao Oulai is also coming off the back of an impressive World Cup, which ultimately earned him a transfer to Fiorentina.
He has all the makings of a complete box-to-box midfielder, capable of carrying the ball, accelerating past opponents, relishing duels and with the dynamism to shift defensive to attack in the blink of an eye.
His technique and discipline in the heart of the park should improve dramatically in the coming years, and he could yet become the next great African CM.
LW: Abde Ezzalzouli
Massively unfortunate to have missed out on the 2026 tournament after sustaining an injury in Morocco's final warm-up game ahead of the campaign, Abde has time on his side as he looks to one day leave his mark on the grandest stage of them all.
His absence was particularly disappointing given the left-sider's form this year for Real Betis, in which he had a hand in 18 goals in 29 La Liga outings, and it's this cutting edge that gives him an x factor compared to some of Africa's other contenders for his position.
If he refines - rather than loses - his explosiveness, directness, capacity for improvisation, and confidence between now and the next competition, he could be a world-beater on home soil.
10: Ismael Saibari
Lining up alongside Ezzalzouli in our WC2030 forecasted Dream Team is his international teammate Saibari, who like Hakimi and Bouaddi, was one of Africa's outstanding players at the just-concluded tournament in North America.
Having just secured a move to Bayern Munich, he has an exciting few years ahead, and don't be surprised if Saibari has rivalled his compatriot Hakimi to the African Footballer of the Year award over the years to come.
His verticality, off-the-ball movement, and burgeoning goal threat make him such a compelling prospect, even though much may depend on where and how Bayern opt to use him.
He just squeezes Ibrahim Maza of Algeria out of our projected Dream Team.
RW: Yan Diomande
There's plenty of competition for the right-wing berth in our team, where the likes of Antoine Semenyo, Mohammed Kudus and Bryan Mbeumo should still be in their prime when the next World Cup comes around.
However, Diomande -- still only 19 -- surely has the highest upside, with the winger potentially still only approaching superstardom by the time of the 2030 edition.
His acceleration, dribbling ability, and confidence in one-on-one situations make him such a compelling watch, and while he struggled as the Ivory Coast were eliminated by Norway, his performance across the Elephants' group-stage games demonstrated how defenders attempt to adapt their own games to try to anticipate and neutralise Diomande's threat.
Questions remain about his maturity and attitude, and it's imperative, wherever he ends up, that Diomande doesn't regress after an encouraging 25-26 season with RB Leipzig.
ST: Victor Osimhen
The second oldest player on this list, the former African Footballer of the Year is still awaiting his first World Cup, let alone a career-defining Mondial performance.
2030 has to be that tournament, with Osimhen one of several excellent Super Eagles players who failed to reach this past competition, denying the striker the opportunity to grace the grandest stage in his prime.
In four years' time, at 31, he should still be lethal, having demonstrated a consistency of scoring - whether for club or country - that few of his peers can match.
While Africa has many outstanding attacking players, genuinely excellent centre forwards are relatively rare, and Osimhen should still be able to occupy centre backs, attack crosses and pillage goals like no other African striker come the next global showpiece.
Nigeria just have to make sure they don't miss out next time...!
