The second edition of Uefa’s newest competition has an eclectic mix in the final four with English strugglers West Ham United to take Dutch giantkillers AZ Alkmaar in one semifinal and Italy’s Fiorentina meeting Basle of Switzerland, who have had a horror domestic campaign but thrived in European club competition.
There are Africa internationals who will feature prominently for three of the four semifinalists, all of whom are looking for rare European glory. The Hammer were European Cup Winners’ Cup victors almost 60 years ago in 1965, while Fiorentina won the same competition even further back – in 1961.
MAXWEL CORNET (WEST HAM UNITED & IVORY COAST)
Born in the Ivory Coast but brought up since the age of three in France, Cornet burst onto the scene in Ligue 1 at Olympique Lyonnais, playing not only up front but also at left back and scoring the goal that saw the French club eliminate Manchester City in the quarterfinals of the 2020 Champions League. He moved to Burnley in 2021 but his first season in the Premier League saw the Lancashire club relegated, although the striker showed enough of his ability to earn a transfer to West Ham. But this has proven a challenging first season for him at the Hammers, where he was ruled out for five months with complex issue with the soleus muscle in the calf. The speedy forward returned to action in the Conference League round of 16 first-leg win at AEK Larnaca in early March. Blessed with lightning pace and extensive Champions League and Europa League experience with Lyon, Cornet could yet play a big part for West Ham over the closing weeks of what has been a frustrating, stop-start 2022/23 season – a season that could yet end with a major European trophy.
SAID BENRAHMA (WEST HAM UNITED & ALGERIA)
The Algerian dribbling wizard, who is 27-years-old, is in his third season with West Ham and a key member of the side. He began his football in France, where he lived from the age of 11, but at Nice was never in favour with the manager and sent out repeatedly on Ioan. Brentford lured him across the English Channel to the Championship, using their ‘Moneyball’ approach to scout undervalued players based on their statistics. There he quickly became a fan favourite and was named the club’s Player of the Year as they bid for a first-ever Premier League place. They narrowly missed out in the 2020 playoff, and while successful the next season, Benrahma had already left, initially on loan to West Ham and after six months in a permanent 25-million-pound move. Benrahma had a call-up in 2019 when Algeria won the Africa Cup of Nations to play at the tournament but had to pull out injured. He did, however, participate at the next finals which were held in Cameroon early last year.
NAYEF AGUERD (WEST HAM UNITED & MOROCCO)
There was much expectation when West Ham signed the Moroccan centre back from Stade Rennes in France at the start of the season in a 30-million-pound move. Aguerd had been one of the outstanding performers in Ligue 1, but his odyssey with the Hammers hit a sour note almost straight – he suffered a knock in a pre-season friendly and had to have ankle surgery. It took several months of recovery, and much anxiousness about his chances of playing at the World Cup, before he was able to begin to pay back his expensive move. The tall, left-footed defender developed at the national Mohammed VI Football Academy in the Moroccan capital, Rabat, before beginning his senior career with local club FUS Rabat. Aguerd moved to France in 2018, when he joined Ligue 1 side Dijon. His performances there saw Rennes move for him in mid-2020 and he went on to star in Ligue 1, the Champions League and Europa Conference League, as well as become a regular for his senior national team.
ALFRED DUNCAN (FIORENTINA & GHANA)
The 30-year-old has been a regular for his Italian club this season in Serie A action but started only one of their matches en route to the Europa Conference League semifinals. Duncan has been in Italy all his career, starting first as a promising junior in Inter Milan’s academy and being signed at the age of 18. He has since worn the colours of Livorno, Sampdoria, Sassuolo and Cagliari, and been on the books at Fiorentina since January 2020. He has made three appearances for Ghana’s Black Stars but the last was in 2017 in the qualifiers for the World Cup in Russia. He has since been blacklisted by the Ghana Football Association after controversially withdrawing injured from the squad ahead of a World Cup qualifying matches against Zimbabwe in 2021. A few days later, he went on to feature for his club in a league game. GFA president Kurt Okraku revealed Duncan had been blacklisted, saying he previously "had the opportunity to serve Ghana and did not respond".
SOFYAN AMRABAT (FIORENTINA & MOROCCO)
The hard-grafting defensive midfielder was one of the star performers for Morocco at last year’s World Cup in Qatar, driving the team forward from midfield with relentless energy as they stunned all with their unexpected progress to the semifinals. It earned Amrabat immediate notoriety, and his name has since been linked with bevy of top English and Spanish clubs for next season. Born in the Netherlands, his elder brother Nordin was also a Moroccan international, although Sofyan did play for the Dutch at under-15 level. He has gone onto make 40 appearances for Morocco. He made his league debut at FC Utrecht and then moved onto Feyenoord whereafter he went to Club Brugge in neighbouring Belgium. His move to Italy came first with Verona on loan in 2019 and then Fiorentina, where he has been a regular for the last three season. The 26-year-old Amrabat will be hoping the Europa Conference League will prove a fitting send off for his time in Florence as he awaits his next move.
CHRISTIAN KOUAME (FIORENTINA & IVORY COAST)
Kouame has five goals this season for Fiorentina, including one in the Europa Conference League as he returns to the club after a loan spell in Belgium. He played under Vincent Kompany last year at Anderlecht but it did not prove the fillip for his career that the Ivorian international might have been hoping for. The 25-year-old from Abidjan, who wears the number 99 on his jersey, moved to Italy aged 16 and stayed with foster family while he tried to make a breakthrough in the game. He spent several years in the lower leagues before making a breakthrough at Serie B club Cittadella. Genoa signed him aged 21 and gave him his Serie A breakthrough before Fiorentina took him on a loan with an option to buy, which they took up in 2020. Kouame made his national team debut in 2019 and also participated for the country at U-23 level at the Olympic Games men’s soccer tournament two years ago where the Ivorians reached the quarterfinal stage. Kouame also went with the Elephants to the last Cup of Nations finals in Cameroon where they flopped in the first round. He made two substitute appearances.
KASIM NUHU (BASEL AND GHANA)
Also known as Kasim Adams, the 27-year-old central defender has played for Ghana’s Black Stars 11 times and was in the squad that went out in the round of 16 at the Cup of Nations finals in Egypt in 2019. But it is almost three years now since he last played for the national tea although he remains a competent performer on the European stage. Nuhu was but a teenager when he debuted for Medeama SC in Ghana’s Premier League and quickly sold onto Leganes in Spain. They in turn traded him to Mallorca on loan and in late 2014 he debuted in the first team when Mallorca were still in the Spanish second division. Mallorca went onto buy him but then loaned him to Young Boys Berne in Switzerland, where his breakthrough came, helping the club in 2018 to win a first league title in 32 years. Nuhu’s rewards was being spotted by Hoffenheim of the Bundesliga who swooped him up on a five year contract. Four years in the Bundesliga, however, did not see him bed down a regular place. This season he was off on loan again, to Basle, where he has been one of the stars of their progress to the Europa Conference League semifinals, scoring the winner against Nice of France in the previous round.
EMMANUEL ESSIAM (BASEL AND GHANA)
The 19-year-old Essiam has had only a substitute appearance … and a total of 15 minutes … for Basle in European club competition and also been used sparingly in the Swiss league as the club slowly introduce the teenagers to the rigours. Essiam moved to Switzerland after in 2021 winning the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations with the Black Meteors in the tournament held in Mauritania. He was a key ingredient in the team and had offers from clubs in Belgium and Portugal, but chose the Swiss club. But hopes of subsequently going onto compete at the U-20 World Cup were dashed when the tournament in Mauritania was cancelled by Fifa over Covid-19 concerns. Essiam has since gone onto be capped for Ghana at under-23 level as they look to qualify for the next Olympic Games men’s soccer tournament.
MAMADOU KALY SENE (BASEL AND SENEGAL)
Striker Sene is a product of Juventus’ youth set up and first loaned to Omonia Nicosia in Cyprus while still a teenager before moving to Basle in 2022. Three seasons at the club have seen him used sparingly but in the last campaign he was on loan at Grasshoppers Zurich and there had a much more successful time with 10 goals in 22 matches. Big and bustling, Sene has also caught the eye of Anderlecht, where he went on trial but in the end the English club did not make a move for him.