December 23, 2024
African players in Europe: Mbeumo maintains his goal streak

African players in Europe: Mbeumo maintains his goal streak

Tottenham Hotspur's James Maddison (L) shields the ball from Brighton's Yankuba Minteh (Glyn KIRK).

Tottenham Hotspur’s James Maddison (L) shields the ball from Brighton’s Yankuba Minteh (Glyn KIRK).

Cameroon striker Bryan Mbeumo continued his winning ways with a goal for Brentford in their 5-3 Premier League win over Wolves at the weekend.

It was his sixth goal in seven league games for the Bees this season – only Manchester City’s Erling Haaland, who scored ten goals, has scored more.

Mbeumo now turns his attention to the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers, with Cameroon playing Kenya in Yaoundé on Friday and three days later in Kampala.

Here, AFP Sport profiles some of the Africans who have played in Europe’s major leagues.

ENGLAND

BRYAN MBEUMO (Brentford), RAYAN AIT-NOURI (Wolves)

Mbeumo scored a penalty in Brentford’s thrilling win over Wolves. Algerian defender Ait-Nouri’s powerful low shot for the visitors was ultimately just a consolation as Wolves remain anchored at the foot of the table.

MOHAMMED KUDUS (West Ham)

Kudus scored for the first time this season as West Ham beat Ipswich 4-1. The Ghanaian headed the rebound into the goal from close range after Michail Antonio’s first attempt failed to hit the crossbar.

YANKUBA MINTEH (Brighton)

Minteh led Brighton’s incredible comeback from a 2-0 deficit to beat Tottenham 3-2. The Gambian took advantage of a poor free kick from Destiny Udogie and scored his first Premier League goal.

ITALY

JORDAN ZEMURA (Udinese)

London-born left-back Zemura, a Zimbabwean international, scored the only goal with a free kick in the 75th minute as Udinese beat Lecce 1-0. The win saw Udinese move up to fifth place in Serie A, three points behind leaders Napoli. “Zemura is a very good player with both feet, the change worked and I am happy, he is a boy who has the potential to be used further,” said Udinese coach Kosta Runjaic.

GERMANY

OMAR MARMOUSH (Eintracht Frankfurt)

Egyptian striker Marmoush scored two goals, including an injury-time equalizer that gave Eintracht Frankfurt a 3-3 draw and denied Bayern Munich a two-point lead at the top of the Bundesliga. Marmoush made no mistake and punished Bayern’s faltering defense to secure a point. With eight goals, the 25-year-old is the top goalscorer in the German top league so far this season.

VICTOR BONIFACE (Bayer Leverkusen)

The Nigerian scored his fourth goal of the season in the Bundesliga, but could not prevent reigning champions Leverkusen from squandering a two-goal lead and drawing 2-2 with newly promoted Holstein Kiel. Boniface’s goals will be vital if struggling Leverkusen look to return to form and prevent Bayern from regaining the title.

FRANCE

MARSHALL MUNETSI (Reims)

Zimbabwean midfielder Munetsi wore the captain’s armband and scored for the third time in four games as Reims beat Montpellier 4-2 and finished fourth in Ligue 1, behind Marseille only on goal difference. Ivory Coast striker Oumar Diakite also scored for Reims, who are unbeaten in six games since losing to Lille on the opening weekend of the season.

M’BALA NZOLA (lentil)

Angola international Nzola scored twice in three Ligue 1 games for Lens when he scored the opener in a 2-2 draw at Strasbourg. Nzola, 28, grew up in France but made a name for himself as a player in Italy before joining Lens on loan from Fiorentina in August.

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