Manchester United fans have a keen interest in the ongoing African Cup of Nations in Morocco, with three current players involved.
Over the past few weeks, Ruben Amorim has seen his team ripped apart through injuries and also the AFCON, which has seen Amad, Bryan Mbeumo, and Noussair Mazraoui in attendance.
The result of this drastic squad weakness has seen three Manchester United academy graduates, with Bendito Mantato the latest, against Wolves.
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All three of United’s AFCON attenders have progressed into the knockout stages of the competition, impressing for their nations.
But so did a player that the club let go for free.
Axel Tuanzebe is storming through AFCON for Congo
While Amad has been one of the stars of the tournament, there has been an interesting inclusion in the official team of the group stages.
The official AFCON X account posted the best team of the tournament so far, with a 4-3-3 formation seeing Axel Tuanzebe in at centre-back.
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Tuanzebe is relatively new to representing DR Congo, and AFCON is his first competition, which is going well to date.
The 28-year-old has kept one clean sheet and only conceded once as Congo coasted through their group, even holding Senegal to a draw and earning a round of 16 clash with Algeria.
Despite being really exciting and even locking down Kylian Mbappe early in his career, Tuanzebe succumbed to injury problems, but is currently making a solid Premier League career for himself with Burnley.
United released Tuanzebe in 2023, and it was the correct decision, but we have to ponder ‘what if’ he hadn’t suffered the injury issues he did.
Amad and Noussair Mazraoui representing Manchester United
Tuanzebe was not the only name in the team with United roots, as the group stage best XI also saw Amad and Mazraoui named.
Amad has been really impressive for the Ivory Coast, scoring twice in two starts, securing a knockout clash with Burkina Faso on Tuesday.
Meanwhile, Mazraoui has also shone for Morocco, with a next round game against Tanzania awaiting. The defender has been so consistent, with three top-class performances.
Mbeumo has also caught the eye with his performances, although to a lesser extent, and now faces South Africa on Sunday, which could potentially set up a quarter-final against Mazraoui if both are successful.
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