Europa League's Best XI: Ademola Lookman and Two Other African Stars Named

Europa League's Best XI: Ademola Lookman and Two Other African Stars Named

Lukman Mumuni
updated at May 24, 2024 at 6:29 AM
In this article:
Mohammed Kudus logo
M.Kudus
West Ham United logoMGhana logo
Ademola Lookman logo
A. Lookman
Atalanta logoFNigeria logo
Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang logo
P. Aubameyang
Al-Qadisiya logoFGabon logo
Victor Okoh Boniface logo
V. O. Boniface
Bayer Leverkusen logoFNigeria logo
UEFA Europa League logo
UEFA Europa League
Europe
Bayer Leverkusen logo
Bayer Leverkusen
Germany
34
West Ham United logo
West Ham United
England
29
Atalanta logo
Atalanta
Italy
49
  • Ademola Lookman is listed in the Europa League Team of the Tournament
  • The Nigerian is joined by two other Africans in the competition's elite XI
  • Lookman's hat-trick saw Atalanta win their first European title this week

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The African trio of Ademola Lookman, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, and Mohammed Kudus have been named in the Europa League Team of the Tournament.

Lookman helped Atalanta win the competition after netting a hat-trick in the final against Bayer Leverkusen on Wednesday, May 22, in Dublin.

Aubameyang was the top scorer while Kudus starred as West Ham United reached the quarter-finals, where they were knocked out by Bayer Leverkusen.

Ademola Lookman, Mohammed Kudus, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, Europa League, Team of the Season, Atalanta
Ademola Lookman, Pierre Emerick-Aubameyang, and Mohammed Kudus are named in the Europa League's Team of the Tournament. Photos: Michael Regan/ Jean Catuffe/ West Ham.
Source: Getty Images

The three players scored high ratings to make the Team of the Tournament, according to WhoScored.

Meanwhile, Nigeria's Victor Boniface was a notable absentee from the UEL's top squad, despite scoring five goals in the competition.

Other players in the team are the Leverkusen duo of Florian Wirtz and Exequiel Palacios as well as Liverpool's Cody Gakpo.

AS Roma goalkeeper, Mile Svilar, joined Atalanta's Matteo Ruggeri and Berat Djimsiti, with Freiburg's Doan Ritsu completing the list.

Lookman, Kudus, and Aubameyang have also all been tipped as being among the top candidates for CAF's 2024 African Player of the Year.

Auba has been in red-hot form since returning to France and was named Ligue 1's best African player of the recent campaign, as reported by RFI.

Lookman scores hat-trick in UEL final

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Lookman inspired Atalanta to Europa League glory after netting a hat-trick in the final to end Bayer Leverkusen's incredible unbeaten streak.

The Nigerian star opened the scoring early in the game before adding his second halfway through the first half, completing his history-making hat-trick in the second half.

Boniface reacts after UEL final defeat

Sports Brief also reported that Boniface reacted to their Europa League defeat to Atalanta, where he was brought off the bench in the second half.

However, it was his compatriot, Lookman, who stole the show, netting a hat-trick to hand the Italian club their first piece of European silverware.

Authors
Lukman Mumuni photo
Lukman Mumuni
Lukman Abdul Mumin is a Sports Journalist based in Accra, Ghana. He has been writing for the past five years. Lukman joined Sports Brief as an Editor for the Local Desk in 2022.