How Will AFCON And Asian Cup Affect Premier League Teams In 2024? Liverpool And Spurs To Miss Star Men

Author:
Robert Summerscales
Publish date:
Dec 27, 2023 10:10 AM EST

Two major international tournaments are set to take place in early 2024 and some of the best players from the Premier League will be involved.

Liverpool's Mo Salah is expected to captain Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast, while Tottenham skipper Son Heung-min will likely lead South Korea at the Asian Cup in Qatar.

But which other players might be taking a mid-season break from EPL duties to represent their countries?

Mohamed Salah pictured playing for Egypt against Djibouti in November 2023 — Mohamed Salah will captain Egypt at the African Cup of Nations in the Ivory Coast in 2024
IMAGO/NurPhoto/Ayman Aref

List Of Premier League Players Expected To Feature At AFCON Or Asian Cup In 2024

Arsenal: Mohamed Elneny (Egypt), Thomas Partey (Ghana), Takehiro Tomiyasu (Japan).
Aston Villa: Bertrand Traore (Burkina Faso).
Bournemouth: Dango Ouattara (Burkina Faso), Antoine Semenyo (Ghana), Hamed Traore (Ivory Coast).
Brighton: Simon Adingra (Ivory Coast), Tariq Lamptey (Ghana), Samy Chouchane (Tunisia), Kaoru Mitoma (Japan).
Brentford: Yoane Wissa (DR Congo), Bryan Mbeumo (Cameroon), Frank Onyeka (Nigeria), Saman Ghoddos (Iran).
Burnley: Anass Zaroury (Morocco), Lyle Foster (South Africa).
Chelsea: Nicolas Jackson (Senegal).
Crystal Palace: Cheick Doucoure (Mali), Jordan Ayew (Ghana), Jeffrey Schlupp (Ghana).
Everton: Abdoulaye Doucoure (Mali), Idrissa Gueye (Senegal).
Fulham: Calvin Bassey (Nigeria), Alex Iwobi (Nigeria).
Liverpool: Joel Matip (Cameroon), Mohamed Salah (Egypt), Wataru Endo (Japan).
Luton Town: Issa Kabore (Burkina Faso), Pelly Ruddock Mpanzu (DR Congo).
Man City: No players.
Man United: Andre Onana (Cameroon), Amad Diallo (Ivory Coast), Sofyan Amrabat (Morocco), Hannibal Mejbri (Tunisia).
Newcastle: No players.
Nottingham Forest: Serge Aurier (Ivory Coast), Willy Boly (Ivory Coast), Ibrahim Sangare (Ivory Coast), Cheikhou Kouyate (Senegal), Moussa Niakhate (Senegal), Ola Aina (Nigeria), Emmanuel Dennis (Nigeria), Taiwo Awoniyi (Nigeria).
Sheffield United: Benie Traore (Ivory Coast) Ismaila Coulibaly (Mali) Anis Ben Slimane (Tunisia).
Tottenham: Pape Matar Sarr (Senegal) Yves Bissouma (Mali), Son Heung-min (South Korea).
West Ham: Said Benrahma (Algeria) Mohamed Kudus (Ghana) Maxwell Cornet (Ivory Coast) Nayef Aguerd (Morocco).
Wolves: Rayan Ait-Nouri (Algeria) Boubacar Traore (Mali), Hwang Hee-chan (South Korea).

South Korea captain Son Heung-min pictured celebrating after scoring against Costa Rica in September 2022 — Son Heung-min will be the most famous Premier League player at the AFC Asian Cup
IMAGO/Penta Press/Seokyong Lee

Tournament Dates

AFCON 2023 and the 2023 AFC Asian Cup are actually taking place in 2024, despite their names.

Both tournaments were originally scheduled for summer in 2023 before being postponed due to concerns about weather.

AFCON 2023 will now start on January 13, 2024 and finish on February 11. The group stage will conclude on January 24.

The Asian Cup will begin on January 12 and end with the final on February 10. Its group stage will finish on January 25.

How Many Premier League Games Will Players Miss?

Every player involved in either AFCON 2023 or the Asian Cup will be unavailable for the Premier League's matchweek 21, which will be spread across two weekends.

Those knocked out at the end of the group stage will likely only miss one Premier League game.

However, if a player is part of a team that reaches the final of either tournament then he will miss four EPL matches.