Mbappe leads the team... which stars could have been eligible to play at AFCON?

The Africa Cup of Nations is in full swing and we've already had some thrilling matches in the early stages of the tournament.

Perhaps one of the biggest shocks was Cape Verde's last-gasp victory against four-time champions Ghana. Meanwhile, Equatorial Guinea held goliaths Nigeria to a 1-1 draw, and 2021 finalists, Egypt, failed to claim victory against Mozambique in a game that finished 2-2.

On Wednesday, Zambia took the lead against Congo in quite bizarre fashion after their goalkeeper came charging out of the box and was left in no-mans land before Kings Kangwa floated the ball into the back of the net from long range.

This year's tournament promises to be one of the most exciting yet, with a ton of top-quality stars making their way to the Ivory Coast in hopes of claiming victory for their team.

Mohamed Salah is one of the standout players to watch this year, as the Egypt forward endeavours to finally win the tournament with his national side after the heartache of having previously come narrowly close on two separate occasions.

His former team-mate, Sadio Mane is another player to keep an eye on as Senegal look to successfully defend their title at the tournament. Napoli star Victor Osimhen is another hot prospect, as he continues to attract the interest of many clubs throughout Europe.

But there are a host of star names who could have been eligible to play at AFCON but have instead pledged their international allegiances elsewhere.

From Kylian Mbappe to Curtis Jones, we've created our AFCON XI from some of the top players with dual nationality that could have featured at AFCON 2023.

Goalkeeper - Gavin Bazunu (Southampton and Republic of Ireland)

Southampton goalkeeper Gavin Bazunu made his debut for the Republic of Ireland back in 2021 and has gone on to earn 20 caps for the national side, notably being Ireland's first-choice between the sticks for their recent Euro qualifying campaign in 2023.

The goalkeeper could, however, have qualified to play for the Super Eagles, as he is of Nigerian descent.

Right back - Aaron Wan-Bissaka (Man United and England)

Having risen through the Crystal Palace youth academy, Wan-Bissaka moved to Manchester United in the summer of 2018 on a £50million move, with the defender initially signing an £80,000-a-week deal.

He has been a regular face on the Red Devils' team sheets in recent years, but could be on his way out of Old Trafford, with Erik ten Hag's side having held discussions over a swap deal that would see Wan-Bissaka return to Palace, in return for Michael Olise. The Palace winger also could have been included in our starting XI, having dual-eligibility to play for Nigeria and France.

While Wan-Bissaka's future is not totally certain with his contract set to expire in 2025, the defender could technically still play for both England and DR Congo, having represented neither team at senior level.

Born in Croydon, Wan-Bissaka is of Congolese descent, and interestingly won one cap for the country's U20 side back in 2015. And while Congo had an interest in snapping him up, the full-back pledged his allegiances to England back in 2019, stating to The Evening Standard: 'The aim is England.'

The 26-year-old has subsequently gone on to represent England at U20 and U21 level but has not yet made his debut for the senior side.

Centre back - William Saliba (Arsenal and France)

Following his £27million move to Arsenal back in 2019, Saliba has risen to becoming one of the most impressive defenders in the Premier League. Despite suffering some nasty injuries, the Frenchman, who has 12 caps for his national side, is starting to stake a claim as the apparent heir to Virgil van Dijk's throne as the best centre-back in the top-flight.

The 22-year-old was born in Bondy in France and has represented Les Bleus at senior level on 12 occasions -  making his debut for the national side in a friendly against the Ivory Coast back in 2022.

Despite that, he could have opted to play for Cameroon, with his mother hailing from the country.

Centre back - Ibrahima Konate (Liverpool and France)

Another player who has vowed to 'become better' than Van Dijk is his Liverpool team-mate Konate. And he's certainly been in flying form this season for the Merseyside outfit.

Konate particularly impressed during Liverpool's 2-0 FA Cup victory against Arsenal and has helped them rise to the top of the Premier League standings.

The 24-year-old has 13 caps for France and made his debut back in 2022. Born in Paris, Konate's parents hail from Mali.

Left back - Destiny Udogie (Tottenham and Italy)

While eligible to play for Nigeria through his descent, Tottenham full-back, Udogie, made his senior debut for the Italian national side last year, featuring in their European qualifying match against Malta.

The 22-year-old rose through the youth-ranks at Verona before being snapped up by Udinese and then Tottenham in 2022.

After showcasing his excellent defensive skills for the Serie A outfit, Udogie has become a pivotal member of the Spurs starting line-up and has been lauded for his excellent performances this season, with both Gary Neville and Jamie Carragher picking him in their teams of the season so far.

Centre midfield - Eduardo Camavinga (Real Madrid and France)

The Real Madrid youngster is one most exciting midfield prospects in the game right now and at the age of 21 he has already won a Champions League, LaLiga title, French Cup, Spanish Cup and the 2021 UEFA Nations League.

Camavinga's story, though, is an inspiring one. Born in Angola, his parents left the country due to conflict, with Camavinga spending the first few months of his life in a refugee camp. The family would move to France, and while Camavinga is eligible to play for Angola, he made his senior debut for Les Blues back in 2020, during a Nations League match against Croatia.

But it's been a tough season for the holding midfielder. He was ruled out for an extended period after tearing his lateral knee ligaments in his right knee while on international duty with France.

Centre midfield - Curtis Jones (Liverpool and England)

An exciting talent who has grown to become a metronome in the Liverpool midfield this season, Jones - who is yet to make his senior debut for the England men's senior side - has put his name up as one player who could be in with a shout of travelling to this summer's Euros in Germany.

But, he could have been playing at this year's AFCON instead, and in fact, could still switch to play for Nigeria, with the Liverpool star having only represented the Three Lions at age-level.

Jones, who featured in our starting XI of players who could play for both Nigeria and England, is eligible to play for the Super Eagles through his grandmother. And according to OneFootball, England nearly lost Jones who had once considered switching his allegiances to Nigeria.

Attacking midfield - Jamal Musiala (Bayern Munich and Germany)

Another exciting young midfield talent who could have played for Nigeria is Bayern Munich's Jamal Musiala. The 20-year-old is thriving this season alongside new signing Harry Kane and has attracted the attention of several big clubs around Europe.

Pep Guardiola reportedly 'wants' to sign the German international, while Real Madrid will reportedly also try to snap him up if they are unable to sign Kylian Mbappe.

Musiala could have represented several teams at international level, having played for both England and Germany, before he pledged his allegiances to Germany and made his Die Mannschaft debut in 2021.

Born in Stuttgart to a British-Nigerian father and German mother, Musiala could have represented the Super Eagles, had he not opted to play for Julian Nagelsmann's side.

Right wing - Bukayo Saka (Arsenal and England)

We couldn't not leave Saka off our starting XI considering the sensational form he's been in with Arsenal over the last two seasons.

So far in the 2023-24 campaign he has registered nine goals and 12 assists across 27 appearances in all competitions, an impressive return to say the least. He is also not far off surpassing his tally of 15 goals and 11 assists from last season.

Born in London to Nigerian parents, Saka is eligible to play for the African side, but instead has grown to become one of the most pivotal members of Gareth Southgate's current England squad, after making his debut for the England back in 2020.

Left wing - Kylian Mbappe (PSG and France)

One of the biggest names in world football, Mbappe could have qualified to play for Cameroon through his father or Algeria through his mother, Fayza Lamari's descent.

Mbappe, who was born in Paris, chose to represent France and has risen to becoming a leader within the French national side, guiding them to victory at the 2018 World Cup.

His role within the side has not gone unrecognised though, with Didier Deschamps handing him the captain's armband back in March 2023, after Hugo Lloris announced his retirement from international football.

Centre forward - Romelu Lukaku (Roma and Belgium)

Lukaku's technical ability makes him one of the most impressive strikers in Europe when put one-on-one with a defender on the edge of the box. He is physical, strong and has incredible precision that has helped him become one of the best sharpshooters in European football.

Despite disappointing ends to his time at both Man United and Chelsea, the 30-year-old has returned to Italy and is back to his form of old, hammering in goals for Roma, with the Belgian having returned 14 goals across 25 appearances in all competitions this season.

For Belgium, Lukaku has returned a whopping 83 goals across 113 international matches games and was recently named as their captain for their recent Euro qualifying matches.

The former Chelsea and Everton forward was born to Congolese parents, with his father being capped by Zaire (Democratic Republic of Congo) and could have represented Congo at the tournament.