The Group Stage of the 2025/26 CAF Confederation Cup returns this weekend with heavyweights and hungry debutants scattered across the groups.
With tight travel schedules, hostile away grounds and fine margins, individual brilliance often swings matchdays.
Below are five players primed to shape the narrative—each with a proven record on the continent and a skillset built for African club football’s intensity.
Oussama Benbot (GK) — USM Alger
USM Alger’s title defence will lean on Benbot’s calm authority. A winner of both the Confederation Cup and CAF Super Cup in 2022/23, the Algerian commands his area, organizes a high line well, and is excellent at smothering cut-backs—bread-and-butter situations in North African derbies.
On heavy pitches or under aerial bombardment, his decision-making on crosses and quick distribution into wide spaces can flip pressure into counter-attacks.
In a group-stage grind where one clean sheet can decide qualification, Benbot is USMA’s safety net and launch pad.
Thembinkosi Lorch — Wydad AC
Since landing in Casablanca, Lorch has looked like the missing piece. Four goals in seven league games this term and a Club World Cup strike underline his big-occasion temperament.
The South African’s game marries streetwise movement between lines with sudden acceleration; he drifts off the shoulder of full-backs, pops up in Zone 14, and finishes off either foot.
In tight North African contests, one slipped pass or quick one-two can decide it—exactly Lorch’s playground. If Wydad win the territory battle but need incision, expect him to provide it.
Feisal “Fei Toto” Salum — Azam FC
A Tanzanian fan favourite, Salum is Azam’s creative conductor.
Technically clean, brave on the half-turn and blessed with disguise on the final pass, he turns sterile possession into chances.
Against compact blocks common in East and Central Africa, his slide-rule balls into channels and late arrivals at the edge of the box are difference-makers.
Give him runners and set-piece opportunities and he will feed them; underestimate him and he’ll dictate the game’s rhythm to Azam’s liking.
Ahmed Fatouh — Zamalek SC
Trusted for Egypt at AFCON 2022, Fatou brings international nous to Zamalek’s left flank.
He offers balance: secure 1v1 defending against quick wingers, plus the calm to recycle play and choose the right moment to overlap.
In away fixtures—Lusaka, Johannesburg, North Africa—his game management matters: slowing the tempo after a goal, drawing fouls to relieve pressure, and switching play to spring Zamalek’s front line.
He won’t always make the headlines, but his positional discipline and transition control are the foundations of knockout football.
Abderrahmane Meziane — CR Belouizdad
Meziane has seen—and won—this competition before (with USM Alger in 2022/23).
That experience shows in how he chooses moments: dropping short to draw a centre-back, then spinning into space; delaying the final pass to freeze a defender; or simply taking responsibility to finish.
For CRB, who often suffocate opponents with structure, Meziane is the chaos agent in the final third.
A goal out of nothing on a difficult away day is exactly why he is invaluable.
Why these five matter now
Group stages in Africa reward resilience and moments. Stadiums throb, travel is demanding, and game states change quickly.
Benbot’s shot-stopping preserves leads; Lorch’s spark breaks deadlocks; Fatou’s experience neutralizes hostile spells; Salum’s artistry unlocks blocks; and Meziane’s end product converts territorial dominance into points.
If their clubs reach the quarter-finals, expect clips of these five to be on the highlights reel.
SOURCE: CAF ONLINE
