Top Midfielders in 2021 Africa Cup of Nations

From 9 January to 6 February, the 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations (CAN) took place in Cameroon. For the first time, the Lions of Teranga were crowned African champions. Senegal thereby became the 15th African nation to win the prestigious continental trophy. In doing so, Senegal assumed its status. The leading African nation in the Fifa ranking had to demonstrate a lot of courage, commitment and above all, patience to finally reach their goal. Their curse has been broken. Despite the talent of its players, Senegal was never an African champion.

While in the Senegal national team, the likes of Sadio Mane, Abdou Diallo, Edouard Mendy and others were the leading stars, but they also had some outstanding midfielders, who showed some great performances to lead their country to glory. The likes of Idrissa Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyaté are the best examples of this. Taking a look back at the tournament, we will reveal some of the top midfielders in the 2021

in this article.

 Best 2022 African Cup of Nations Midfielders

To create this list of top midfielders in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, we have used player ratings from WhoScored for the group stage and the knockout round matches. In addition to that, we have included some players in the list who may not have good ratings but played key roles for their national team during the tournament. Now stay tuned to get to know the top 10 best players in Africa 2021 and some other good midfielders who played in this year's African Cup of Nations.

Mohamed Elneny – Egypt – Player Rating: 6.58

Although the strong Egyptian midfielder did not get a good overall rating from WhoScored during the 2021 African Cup of Nations, Mohamed Elneny was a key part of his national team's midfield in the competition which he played in all seven matches. The tireless midfielder only was substituted by Carlos Queiroz on two occasions against

and

. His best performance was against Senegal in the final, where he received a rating of 6.8 from WhoScored with one 40 passes, 92.5 percent pass accuracy, one key pass and three tackles.

Mohamed Elneny used to play for Al Ahly in his youth. He was transferred to Al Moqaouloun al-Arab in 2010, making 19 league appearances in his debut season in professional football. However, after the Port Said stadium disaster on 10 March 2012, the Egyptian Football Federation cancelled the competition, and Elneny, therefore, played his last match of the 2011/12 season on 28 January.

Fortunately, FC Basel invited Elneny to its training camp between 14 and 24 January 2013, where he was involved in a friendly against Romanian side Steaua Bucharest. He convinced coach Murat Yakin of his qualities and signed a contract on 29 January 2013, committing him to the Swiss side until June 2013.

He marked his debut in the Swiss league against

on 10 February 2013 (3-0 win). He came on for the Ivorian Geoffrey Serey Die after 74 minutes; his fellow countryman Mohamed Salah was also one of the substitutes and another one of the three goal scorers. Four days later, Elneny went on to play his European debut in the UEFA Europa League against the Ukrainian Dnipro Dnipropetrovsk. Having had a successful spell at Basel, he drew interest from many top English clubs. However, he opted for Arsenal, signing a contract until mid-2020.

At Arsenal, where he was the first Egyptian player in the history of the club, Elneny has managed to play in a total of 76 league matches since 2016, and for the 2019-20 season, Elneny was sent on loan to the Turkish club Besiktas, where he played in 27 league matches and scored one goal for the club.

Elneny debuted for the Egyptian national football team on 3 September 2011 in a 2-1 defeat to Sierra Leone in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier. In the 2012 Olympic Football Tournament in Great Britain, he and Egypt reached the quarterfinals. His first international goal came on 4 June 2014 in a 2-2 draw in a friendly match against

. At the 2018 World Cup in Russia, he was part of Egypt's squad, where they were eliminated in the group stage after losing to Russia, Uruguay and Saudi Arabia, coming last in Group A. He played in all three matches.

Thomas Partey – Ghana – Player Rating: 6.75

One of the good teams in the African national teams' rankings 2021, Ghana was undoubtedly one of the biggest disappointments of the 2021 African Cup of Nations, in which they had to say goodbye to the tournament with just two defeats and one draw. Nevertheless, Thomas Partey, the Arsenal star, was one of the good performers of his team, where he managed to provide two assists to his teammates in the second and third group stage matches against

and Comoros, respectively.

Thomas was born in Odumas-Krobo, Ghana, and comes from the local FC Odometa. In 2011, he signed for Atletico Madrid and was included in the club's reserve squad. Thomas was summoned to the main squad for a match against

on 10 March 2013 but failed to appear on the pitch. The same year, on 12 July, Thomas was sent on loan to Mallorca, who recently was relegated to the Segunda division. He made his debut on 18 August in a 0-4 loss against Sabadela.

His first goal as a professional was scored on 15 September in a 2-2 draw against

. Overall that season, the player played 37 games and scored five goals. Thomas joined the Primera club, Almeria, on loan on 27 July 2014. His debut for the new club was on 23 August against Espanyol in a 1-1 draw. He scored his first Primera goal on 11 April 2015 in the winning (3-0) game against Granada.

For Atletico Madrid, Thomas debuted on 28 November 2015, substituting for Vietto in the winning (1-0) home game against Espanyol, and scored his first goal for the club on 2 January 2016 in a 1-0 home win over Levante. Thomas Partey was voted Ghana's Footballer of the Year by Ghanaian sports journalists in 2018.

The official La Liga website announced on 5 October 2020 that Partey's contract buyout option was exercised by Arsenal, amounting to €50 million. Since joining Arsenal in 2020, Thomas Partey has played a total of 41 league matches for the Gunners and scored one goal.

Partey played his first international match for Ghana in the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Mauritius. During the summer of 2019, at the African Cup of Nations in

, Thomas was called up for his national team. In the third match, he scored a goal against Guinea-Bissau, and the team won 2-0. He has played in the 2017, 2019 and 2021 African Cup of Nations for his country.

Franck Kessié – Ivory Coast – Player Rating: 6.75

While many expected Ivory Coast to be one of the teams with a good chance of making it to the higher stages of the 2021 African Cup of Nations, but the Ivorians only made it to the Round of 16, losing to Egypt on penalties. Having played in all four matches of the Ivory Coast, except for the Round of 16 match that he had to be replaced in the 30th minute due to injury, he showed some good performances, especially in the match against Algeria, in which he also scored a goal.

Franck Kessié began training at Stella Club d'Adjamé of Abidjan, playing as a central midfielder or defender. In early 2015, he was transferred to Atalanta BC. There he initially played in the youth team, but first-team coach Edoardo Reja appointed him for the away match of the 31st round of Serie A against

. However, the 18-year-old spent the entire match on the bench.

He was loaned to second-league Cesena for the 2015/16 season. He was retrained there permanently from a centre-back to a central midfielder. Kessié played 36 games in Serie B and scored four goals, while his club finished sixth in the table. During the summer of 2016, the Ivorian settled on a contract with Sunderland but was refused permission to work in England and remained in Italy. Kessié made his debut for Atalanta on 13 August 2016.

In the 3rd round of the Italian Cup, the team led by Gian Piero Gasperini defeated US Cremonese 3:0, with Kessié scoring the last of the goals. The Ivorian player played in the 1st round match of Serie A on 21 August. Atalanta then suffered a 3:4 loss to SS Lazio, but Kessié scored two goals in his league debut. Thereafter, the 19-year-old also scored one goal each in the next two league games.

He was loaned to Milan on 1 July 2017 for two years for €8 million with an option to buy for €24 million. At the end of his two-year loan deal at the club, when he had already established himself as a key player for the club, he was purchased by Milan for €24 million on 1 July 2019. Since his arrival in Milan, Franck has played a total of 89 league matches for the club and scored 22 goals.

He debuted for the Ivory Coast national team in an Africa Cup of Nations qualifier against

on 6 September 2014 when he was 17 years old. He was named by Michel Dussuyer in the 23-man squad for the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations on 4 January 2017. At the tournament, he played in all three matches for the defending champions, who were knocked out after the group stage. He has also played in the 2019 African Cup of Nations for his country.

Idrissa Gueye – Senegal – Player Rating: 6.91

As one of the best African midfielders at the moment, many expected Idrissa Gueye to be amongst the top midfielders in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, and he certainly did so. Having played in six of seven Senegal matches, Idrissa Gueye put on some strong performances during the tournament, with the highlight of them being in the final match against Egypt. With two shots on goal, 104 touches, 86 passes and two crosses, he received a 7.39 rating from WhoScored and was his team's fourth-best player behind Saliou Ciss, Abdou Diallo and Edouard Mendy.

Gueye started out playing football in his home country in the highest division for Diambars before leaving for France in 2008 to play for OSC Lille. During his first two years there, he first played exclusively for the second team before making his sporting breakthrough in Ligue 1 in the 2010/11 season.

That year, the young midfielder, capable of playing defensively as a "six" and more offensively as an "eight" between the two penalty areas, secured the double of the French league championship and cup. As a result, he also promoted himself to the spotlight of the Senegalese senior national team and was then in the squad for the 2012 Olympics in London. He was frequently compared to Chelsea FC's Ramires in terms of his playing style.

Following three more years as a regular for LOSC Lille and participation in the 2015 African Cup of Nations, in which he played all three games, he signed for Aston Villa in the English Premier League for the 2015/16 season for an undisclosed transfer fee. It was announced at the end of July 2016 that league rivals Everton F.C. were willing to pay the transfer fee of the equivalent of approximately €8.5 million, which was set out in an exit clause, and the transfer was completed as of August 2016.

During three seasons of playing for Everton, he appeared in a total of 99 league matches for the English club and scored three goals. For the 2019/20 season, Gueye returned to Ligue 1 and joined reigning champions Paris Saint-Germain for a transfer fee of €30 million, signing a contract that runs until 30 June 2023. Since his arrival in Paris, he has played a total of 63 league matches so far and scored six goals.

Gueye marked his debut in the Senegalese football team in 2011. His first big tournament was the 2015 African Championship. Having also played for Senegal at the 2017 African Championship, he represented his homeland at the 2018 World Cup in Russia a year later. Gueye participated in all three

matches. At the 2019 African Cup of Nations, he was once again part of the Senegalese team, with whom he reached the final this time. In the next edition, he managed to win the competition with Senegal.

Gustavo Sangaré – Burkina Faso – Player Rating: 6.95

Unlike expectations, Burkina Faso was amongst the AFCON best team in 2022 this year, and Gustavo Sangaré was one of the best players of his team in this year's African Cup of Nations where he played in every match from the group stage to the third-place playoff. In the seven matches during the competition, Gustavo also managed to score a goal in their 2-1 defeat against Cameroon. Gustavo successfully managed to establish himself as one of the best players at AFCON 2022.

As a young player graduate from Salitas and Frontignan, Sangaré joined Quevilly-Rouen's reserve team in 2018. He was promoted to the first team in 2019, which plays in the Ligue 2 championship. His first match in Ligue 2 was played on 24 July 2021, against USL Dunkerque, which finished with a score of 1-1. Currently, he is playing as a midfielder for the French club Leviathan and the national team of Burkina Faso. He primarily played as a defensive midfielder but sometimes has played as a right-sided midfielder and central midfielder.

His international football debut was made on 12 June 2021, when he was 24 years, six months and four days old, in a friendly match against

. He wore the number 33 jersey and played as a central midfielder in the match, and Morocco won the match 1-0.

Sangare was named in the squad for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, which was played in Cameroon between 9 January and 6 February 2022. In the competition, while his national team proved to be the surprise package of the 2021 African Cup of Nations, making their way all up to the semifinal, Sangare established himself as one of the best midfielders of the competition.

Pablo Ganet – Equatorial Guinea – Player Rating: 7.04

While Equatorial Guinea was one of the teams that surprised many in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, Pablo Ganet proved to be one of the top midfielders in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, unlike expectations. While he had an average game in the first group match against Ivory Coast, but in the second match against

, which they won 1-0, he was one of the best performers. In the third match against Sierra Leon, Pablo Ganet showed his best performance and even scored a goal. In their quarterfinal defeat against

, he provided the assist for his team's only goal.

Pablo Ganet, who is probably one of the unknown players in our list of top midfielders in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, was trained at Málaga C. F., Fuengirola-Los Boliches and Real Betis during his youth days. He played his debut in the Third Division in the 2014-15 season in the ranks of U. D. San Sebastián de Los Reyes. He signed for Arroyo Club Polideportivo the following season.

During the summer of 2016, he was signed by Algeciras Club de Fútbol, for whom he played for a season and a half before departing in January 2018 for Moroccan side Ittihad Tanger. In the middle of the year he joined San Roque de Lepe before heading back to Algeciras Club de Fútbol, with which he achieved promotion to Segunda División B in the 2019-20 season.

He embarked on an Asian adventure in August 2020, first with Kazma Sporting Club, a Kuwaiti Premier League club, and subsequently with Saham Club in Oman. He returned to Spain in July 2021 to play for Real Murcia Club de Fútbol.

His first game for the Equatorial Guinea team was a friendly against Cape Verde on 7 January 2015 (score: 1-1). He then participated in the 2015 African Cup of Nations held in the country of his ancestors. He only played one match at the tournament, against Congo (score: 1-1). Equatorial Guinea came fourth in the tournament, being defeated by the Democratic Republic of Congo in the so-called 'small final' following a penalty shoot-out with Pablo Ganet on the bench.

His first goal for the national team came on 22 March 2019, against Sudan. This match, won 1-4, was part of the qualifiers for the 2019 African Cup of Nations. On 13 October 2019, his second goal came in a friendly against Togo (score 1-1). He scored his third goal against Tunisia in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, helping his team win 1-0. He was selected by coach Juan Micha on 27 December 2021 to play in the 2021 African Cup of Nations in Cameroon, where he proved to be one of the best midfielders of the tournament.

Martin Hongla – Cameroon – Player Rating: 7.17

Cameroon had a rather good campaign this year as the host nation, only to lose on semifinal on penalties to Egypt. Marting Hongla was amongst the best performers of his national team, who recorded three assists in four matches that he played for the Cameroon national team. The highlight of his performances was their 2-0 win over the Gambia, where with four key passes, 90 percent pass accuracy, 57 touches, one assist and one shot on target, he achieved a rating of 7.85. Hongla successfully managed to establish himself as one of the best players at AFCON 2022.

Hongla is a graduate of the Nkufo Academy. He signed for Spanish side Granada in 2016, starting as a substitute. He made his La Liga debut in a match against Villarreal on 28 January 2017. Hongla moved to Barcelona's reserve team on loan in early 2018. In a match against Cordoba on 4 February, he made his Segunda debut. Martin returned to Granada at the end of his loan spell.

At the start of 2019, Hongla was on loan at Karpaty Lviv. In a match against Vorskla on 24 February, he debuted in the Ukrainian league. Martin scored his first goal for Karpaty in a game against Arsenal Kyiv on 5 May.

Hongla moved to the Belgian side Antwerp in the summer of 2019. He made his debut in the Jupiter Ligue in a match against Charleroi on 11 August. Martin scored his first goal for Antwerp in a game against Sulte Varegem on 18 October 2020. In the same year, Hongla assisted the club in winning the Belgian Cup.

In the 2020/2021 Europa League against Bulgarian Ludogorets and Scottish Rangers, he scored two goals. Hongla moved to the Italian side Hellas Verona on loan in the summer of 2021. He made his Italian Serie A debut on 21 August in a match against Sassuolo.

Hongla made his debut for Cameroon in the 2021 Africa Cup qualifier against Mozambique on 14 November 2019. For the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, Martin was part of the Cameroon national team. He played in the tournament against Ethiopia, Comoros, Gambia and Egypt.

Amadou Haidara – Mali – Player Rating: 7.20

The only Malian player to appear in our list of top midfielders in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, Amadou Haidara, put on some great performances in this tournament, in fact, getting high ratings from WhoScored in all matches. In Mali's first group stage match against Tunisia, which finished 1-0, Haidara was one of the best players in his team and got a 7.55 rating from WhoScored. In the Round of 16 match against Equatorial Guinea, although he lost his chance in the penalties, but he was one of the best players of Mali.

Haidara launched his football career with JMG Academy Bamako in his home country. He was signed by Austrian side Red Bull Salzburg in the summer of 2016 but immediately was loaned out to second-division club FC Liefering. He debuted on 5 August 2016 in a 4-2 win over LASK Linz, coming on as a substitute for Gideon Mensah at half-time and then scoring his first goal in the 48th minute.

For Red Bull Salzburg, Haidara debuted on 5 April 2017 in a cup match against Kapfenberger SV, where he came on as a substitute in the 104th minute for Stefan Stangl and six minutes later netted the decisive 2-1 goal that gave Salzburg the win in extra time. Haidara made his Austrian Bundesliga debut four days later in a 1-0 win over Sturm Graz. With the U19 team, Haidara also won the UEFA Youth League during the 2016/2017 season. Before the 2018/2019 season, Haidara renewed his contract with Red Bull Salzburg until 30 June 2022.

Haidara was signed by German side RB Leipzig on 22 December 2018, where he agreed to a four and a half year contract. On 16 March 2019, Haidara made his Bundesliga debut in a 1-0 win over Schalke 04, coming on as a 77th-minute substitute for Kevin Kampl. Since his arrival, he has played a total of 72 league matches for the club and scored six goals.

Haidara made his Mali national team debut on 6 October 2017, in a 0-0 draw against Ivory Coast in a qualifier for the 2018 World Cup. The midfielder came on for Yves Bissouma eleven minutes before the end of the match. During the summer of 2019, Haidara was selected by Magassouba for Mali's African Cup of Nations squad. At the 2019 CAN, Mali was knocked out in the eighth-finals. Haidara played in all matches, and it was against Angola that he scored the only goal of the match and his first international goal.

Wilfred Ndidi – Nigeria – Player Rating: 7.23

One of the best midfielders of the Nigerian national team, Ndidi also proved to be amongst the top midfielders in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. In each of the group stage matches of Nigeria, he received impressive ratings from WhoScored and was the key player of the Nigerian midfield. He played the whole 90 minutes of the Round of 16 match but was unable to prevent Nigeria from losing 1-0 to Tunisia. Ndidi successfully managed to establish himself as one of the best players at AFCON 2022.

Wilfred Ndidi kicked off his career in his native Nigeria with Nath Boys FC and, at the age of 18, left Nigeria to join KRC Genk in the Pro League at the winter break of the 2014/15 season. His debut for the Belgians came on 31 January 2015 in a league match against RSC Charleroi. He scored his first goal for the club in his second season at Genk in a 2-1 win in the league match against SV Zulte Waregem. During the season, he helped his team qualify for the Europa League.

His debut in international club football came on 14 July 2016 in the 2nd qualifying round of the Europa League. He was used for the entire match by coach Peter Maes in a 2-0 win against Budućnost Podgorica. After qualifying for the 2016/17 Europa League via the Europa League Qualifiers, he made his full-time debut in the Europa League on 15 September 2016 in a 3-2 defeat to Rapid Vienna. His first goal in international club football came on 20 October 2016, scoring in the 83rd minute against Athletic Bilbao in the Europa League.

Ndidi joined English champions Leicester City in the Premier League as a winter signing on 3 January 2017. Under manager Claudio Ranieri, he debuted for his new club on 7 January 2017. He played the entire match in the 2-1 FA Cup win against Everton FC. Only a few days later, he made his Premier League debut in the 3-0 defeat against Chelsea FC on 14 January 2017. His first goal for his new club came on 1 April 2017 in the league match against Stoke City.

For Leicester City, he made his Champions League debut on 22 February 2017 in the first leg of the Round of 16 tie against Sevilla FC. In the 2-1 defeat, he played the entire match. Victory in the second leg saw Leicester qualify for the quarterfinals, in which they were knocked out of the competition by Atlético Madrid. Since his arrival, he has played 160 league matches for the club and scored seven goals.

Ndidi's debut for the Nigerian national football team took place on 8 October 2015 in a friendly match against the Democratic Republic of Congo. His competitive debut for Nigeria came on 3 September 2016 in the Africa Cup qualifier against Tanzania.

For the 2018 World Cup, he was called up by national coach Gernot Rohr to Nigeria's preliminary World Cup squad. He then became part of Nigeria's final squad. He and the team were knocked out of the group stage in third place in Group D after defeats to Croatia and Argentina and a win against Iceland. He played in all three matches.

Selim Amallah – Morocco – Player Rating: 7.26

While in the Moroccan national team this year, all eyes were on Achraf Hakimi, but Selim Amallah was able to attract attention thanks to his great performances. He appeared in five matches in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, with an overall rating of 7.26 from WhoScored. However, the highlight of his performances there was the group stage match against Comoros, where he put on a man of the match performance, scoring a goal as well as giving an assist in the 2-0 win. He also gave an assist in his team's round of 16 win over Malawi.

As a youth player, Selim Amallah was part of the RSC Anderlecht and RAEC Bergen football academies. Nevertheless, he was offered his first contract at the Royal Excel Mouscron club. There, he was quickly allowed to play his official debut in the first team as a substitute for Julian Michel in the 89th minute against Sporting Charleroi on the first matchday.

During the second and sixth matchdays, he also stepped in as a substitute. However, he did not play any more matches that season. Indeed, following one season at Mouscron, Amallah made a move to second division club AFC Tubize. While at Tubize, Amallah was able to play a lot.

Mouscron took him back to Le Canonnier after one year. During his second spell at Mouscron, Amallah enjoyed a lot of playing time. He rewarded that confidence with nine league goals in his first season. In his second season, Amallah maintained that good streak, thereby earning himself a transfer to Standard Liege in the summer of 2019.

There he was charged with adding some midfield creativity following the departure of Răzvan Marin to AFC Ajax. At once, Amallah settled in at Standard, where he immediately made his mark again. Indeed, in November 2020, he went on to win the Belgian Lion, the award for the best player of North African/Arabic origin in the Belgian league.

Amallah made his Moroccan national team debut on 15 November 2019 in a 0-0 draw in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations qualifying match against Mauritania, played in Rabat. He helped his country to a 1-4 win against Guinea on 12 October 2021 with two goals, earning Morocco a ticket to the World Cup playoffs. His first major international competition was the 2021 African Cup of Nations, which was played in Cameroon.

Joe Aribo – Nigeria – Player Rating: 7.29

Talented England born Nigerian footballer Joe Aribo proved to be one of the top midfielders in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. In his debut match in the tournament against Egypt, in which Nigeria won 1-0, he gave the assist of the only goal of the match to Kelechi Iheanacho. He was also present in the second match of the group stage before being substituted in the 65th minute. In that match, he played great and got a 7.65 rating from WhoScored. He was also present in the 1-0 round of 16 defeat against Tunisia.

In 2014, Aribo went on to play his first match in the world of senior football for Staines Town in the Isthmian Football League, which is an English semi-professional regional football league based in London. He featured in a total of 22 league games and scored no goals in them. He departed for Charlton Athletic in September 2015, joining the reserves at first after a successful trial period.

The midfielder signed his first professional contract for one year in May 2016. He then got to make his professional debut on 16 October 2016, when he was given the opportunity to come on as a substitute in an EFL Trophy group stage game against Crawley Town. They lost the match 0-2. It was on 1 November 2017 that Aribo netted his first goal for Charlton Athletic in a 3-2 win over Fulham under 23 in the EFL Trophy.

His first League goal followed on 23 December 2017 against Blackpool, a 1-1 draw. By the end of the 2018/19 season, Aribo had been promoted to the Championship with Charlton Athletic through the playoffs. At that time, the midfielder, who became a regular, was also offered a contract extension but rejected it.

Aribo agreed to sign a four-year deal with the Scottish side Rangers FC in June 2019 and made his debut for the Scots in a 0-4 win in the Europa League, against St Joseph's from Gibraltar, on 9 July 2019. He scored his first goal for Rangers, followed on 18 July 2019 in the return match against St Joseph's, where they won 6-0. His first league goal was scored by the midfielder on 10 November 2019 against Livingston, a 0-2 win.

In his first season in Scotland, Aribo scored nine goals in 49 appearances for the club, finishing second, and earned his first call-up to the national team. Aribo was again a key starter in the 2020-2021 season as Rangers dominated the league, winning their 55th league title.

Aribo started playing for the Nigerian national team on 10 September 2019 in a 2:2 draw in a friendly against Ukraine, which was played in Dnipro, and went on to score a goal on his debut. He was called up to the national team for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, playing three matches.

Ibrahim Sangaré – Ivory Coast – Player Rating: 7.64

In the 2021 African Cup of Nations, Ibrahim Sangare was undoubtedly the best midfielder, achieving an overall rating of 7.64 from WhoScored. He played a total of five matches in the tournament, giving one assist to Nicolas Pepe in the 65th minute of the match against Sierra Leone and also scoring a goal in the 39th minute of the group stage match against Algeria. He played the full 120 minutes in the Round of 16 match against Egypt, where they were eliminated in the penalties.

Sangaré first started playing football with Tout Puissant Koumassi before joining AS Denguélé in 2012. He transferred from his homeland to France in July 2016, where he joined the first division side, FC Toulouse. [He played in the reserve team for the time being and was gradually introduced to the senior side. His league debut came on 22 October 2016 in a 0-0 draw with SCO Angers, where he came on as a substitute for Óscar Trejo in the closing stages of the game.

After only making sporadic appearances thereafter, he progressed into the starting line-up in the second half of the 2017/18 season, netting his first league goal in a 3-3 draw with AS Monaco on 24 February 2018. In that season, he played 28 league games, in which he managed one goal and two assists. The following season, 2019/20, he only appeared in 25 league games due to the shortened league championship and was relegated to Ligue 2 with the club.

Sangaré moved to the Dutch Premier League side PSV Eindhoven on 28 September 2020, signing a five-year contract. His debut came on 18 October 2020 (matchday 5) in a 3-0 away win against PEC Zwolle. Since his arrival at the club, he has played in a total of 45 league matches and scored four goals for PSV Eindhoven.

Sangaré went on to make his debut for the Ivorian football team on 18 October 2015, when the team lost 2-1 to Ghana. National coach Michel Dussuyer gave Sangaré the chance to play in the starting line-up, and he scored after thirty-three minutes of play. Thanks to two goals from Joel Fameyeh, the Ghanaians won the match. Following a four-year hiatus, Sangaré made a return to the national team in 2019. He joined Ivory Coast for the 2019 African Cup of Nations. There, they were eliminated in the quarterfinals, and Sangaré was featured in two matches.

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