AFCON 2021: Does Moses Simon deserve a spot in the team of the tournament?

Moses Simon was arguably the best player of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations group stages with his electric displays for Nigeria as they won all three games.

Unfortunately, the Super Eagles suffered a surprisingly early elimination in the Round of 16 at the hands of Tunisia, a game in which Moses Simon was neutralised.

But the question is, were his fantastic displays in the three group stage games enough to earn him a spot in the tournament? Especially over players that played as much as seven games.

The strength of Moses Simon’s AFCON 2021 display can be determined better by the eye test rather than statistics. Simon only had one goal and assist each in his four appearances and had one man of the match award to show for it.

That does not seem particularly impressive to anyone who did not actually watch the games but Moses Simon was electric in a way that no other player was.

He completed 17 of his 23 attempted dribbles and four of those unsuccessful dribbles were against Tunisia in what was his only bad game at the tournament.

Simon did not even start the game against Guinea-Bissau but he was still the best player on the pitch and played a pivotal in the second goal which he does not officially get an assist for.

Moses Simon would feature on either wing in whatever formation which means his primary competition are wingers. In that regard, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah are the standout names and most likely to be Simon’s main competition on the wing in the team of the tournament.

Sadio Mane has scored three goals and assisted twice while carrying his team to the final so he understandably beats Moses Simon to one of the wing slots.

Mohamed Salah on the other hand scored has scored two goals in six games so far and his only standout performance was against Morocco in the quarter-final where he scored and assisted in a 2-1 extra-time win.

In terms of individual impact, Moses Simon has a good chance against Salah and every other winger in this competition bar Sadio Mane. 

Other wingers with a chance include Morocco’s Sofiane Boufal who scored three goals, two of which were penalties and was a passenger in most of the games before getting knocked out in the quarter-final.

Gambia’s Ablie Jallow could rival Simon for impact as he scored two important goals in the unprecedented run to the quarter-final but the Nigerian still edges it.

It is odd to suggest that a player who got knocked out in the Round of 16 should be a candidate for the team of the tournament but it is understandable in Moses Simon’s case.

His performances put everyone on the edge of their seats, he was genuinely the most fun player to watch at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations and the Super Eagles’ shortcomings should not deny him the recognition he deserves.