Liverpool duo Salah and Mane headline African players in Uefa Team of the Year shortlist

Taiye Taiwo

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Liverpool duo Salah and Mane headline African players in Uefa Team of the Year shortlist image

Liverpool forwards Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane lead the African nominees for the 2019 Uefa Team of the Year.

Six African players, including Ajax duo Andre Onana and Hakim Ziyech, Arsenal's Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang and Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, made the preliminary 50-man shortlist that was announced on Tuesday.

Salah and Mane earned their spots in the selection after guiding Liverpool to lift the 2018-19 Champions League title and also for their goalscoring feats in England, where they shared the Premier League Golden Boot with Aubameyang after scoring 22 goals each last term.

The Gabonese forward also guided Arsenal to the Europa final last season but the Gunners bowed to a 4-1 defeat against league rivals Chelsea in Baku.

Ziyech and Onana, meanwhile, made the nominees' list following their performances which helped Ajax reach the semi-final of the Champions League last season. They also helped Erik ten Hag's side win a domestic title double of the Dutch Eredivisie and Dutch Cup.

Koulibaly joins other top defenders in the shortlist after establishing himself as a rock-solid centre-back for Napoli who finished as runners-up in the Serie A last season.

The winning 2019 Uefa Team of the Year will be revealed on January 9, 2020.

Taiye Taiwo