Africa Cup of Nations 2019: Top 3 candidates for the AFCON Player Of The Tournament award

#2 Sadio Mane

Mane has hit the ground running with Senegal in AFCON, has been key to their final run.

Heading into the continental competition on the back of UEFA Champions League success with Liverpool, Senegal superstar Sadio Mane was one of the players to watch out for and the Premier League Golden Boot winner has not disappointed one bit.

He's managed three goals so far from just five starts and also has one assist to his name. Though, he could've easily been the top scorer at the tournament by some margin if he hadn't missed two penalties.

Nonetheless, he has arguably been the best player for The Teranga Lions, as they secured their place in the title-decider for just the second time in their history.

Not a lot of people will disagree with the fact that he brings more than just goals and speed into the team - he adds invaluable quality to his side and inspires players around him to elevate their game and play at his level.

He's had a shooting accuracy of 60%, while also maintaining a decent passing accuracy of 77.4%, while also winning 17 fouls for his team, including one penalty, leading to dangerous set-piece opportunities.

Though he was not named their captain for this competition, he led their charge to the final of this showpiece event from the front, as the Senegalese chase their first-ever continental success.

If he has been saving his best for the final, there's not a lot that can stop from him winning the player of the tournament this time around, along with the top-scorers prize.