The 34th Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) gets under way in Ivory Coast on 13 January, with the final in Abidjan on 11 February.
Several Premier League sides will be losing some star names, and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah will be extra-motivated to end his country’s 14-year wait for continental success.
BBC Sport Africa profiles six players who all have different reasons to make an impact at the tournament.
Ghana head to neighbouring Ivory Coast looking to avoid a repeat of their group-stage exit at the 2021 Nations Cup, which included a shock 3-2 defeat by Comoros.
The Black Stars underwhelmed in their opening two qualifiers for the 2026 World Cup – and lightning struck twice as the West Africans fell to another loss against Comoros.
Kudus was Ghana’s top scorer in qualifying for the Nations Cup, netting three goals, and his influence for West Ham United has continued to grow since his switch to the Premier League club in August.
After scoring twice at the 2022 World Cup finals, can the 23-year-old forward help Ghana return to the pinnacle of the African game despite a stern early test against Egypt?
Issa Kabore (Burkina Faso) The attacking right-back was voted as the best young player at the 2021 finals, catching the eye as Burkina Faso reached the last four before losing to eventual champions Senegal.
Kabore has been on the books of Manchester City since joining from Belgian club Mechelen in 2020 but is still awaiting his debut for the reigning Premier League and European champions.
After loan spells in France with Troyes and Marseille, the 22-year-old is now getting a taste of the English top flight with a Luton Town side who are battling relegation.
With Burkina Faso facing Algeria, Mauritania and Angola in Group D, Kabore – who already has over 30 international caps to his name – has another opportunity on the continental stage to stake a claim for a place in Pep Guardiola’s City squad next season.
The rangy midfielder’s impressive box-to-box-displays in Morocco’s history-making run at the 2022 World Cup were a major factor in Ounahi securing a move to French giants Marseille after the finals.
However, a broken toe sustained on duty with the Atlas Lions in March ended his season after just seven brief league outings for his new side.
The 23-year-old is working his way back to hitting the high notes he reached in Qatar, and Ounahi did not feature in the North Africans’ sole World Cup qualifier in November.
However, boss Walid Regragui may well turn back to a man who was a key cog in reaching the World Cup semi-finals as Morocco come up against DR Congo, Zambia and Tanzania in Group F.
Mohamed Salah (Egypt) Egypt suffered double heartbreak at the hands of Senegal in 2022, first losing the Nations Cup final to the Teranga Lions and then being denied a place at the World Cup in Qatar by the West Africans too.
Both those matches were settled by penalty shoot-outs – and Salah did not even have the chance to take a spot-kick in the Afcon final as he was held back to take a fifth kick which never came.—Agencies
