Amad Diallo is coming of age on the international stage after yet another brilliant individual performance for the Ivory Coast at the African Cup of Nations.Â
Manchester United’s winger scored a stunning opening goal in their 1-1 draw with Cameroon on Sunday to take his tournament tally to two in as many games.
Diallo, 23, picked up the ball around 35 yards from goal, drove forward and curled an unstoppable effort into the top corner.
It comes on the back of his winner against Mozambique in their AFCON curtain raiser to put his country in a commanding position for knockout qualification.
Diallo’s performances have also put him on course to follow in the footsteps of Jay Jay Okocha and Sadio Mane by winning the Player of the Tournament after picking up back-to-back Man of the Match trophies.
Amad Diallo sends message to Ruben Amorim
Diallo has let his football do the talking while on international duty, and it’s no surprise his best showings are coming in an attacking role.
Under United boss Ruben Amorim, Diallo has been a victim of the manager’s 3-5-2 formation, having predominantly played his football at right wing-back.
That means he has had to sacrifice his attacking talent at times to make defensive contributions.
Against Cameroon, he created the most chances (4), had a 95% passing accuracy, had four touches in the opposition box and produced three out of four successful crosses.
He has averaged four shots per game during AFCON, compared to 1.9 in the Premier League, and his 1.9 key passes in the top flight are lower than the 3.5 he averages for Ivory Coast.
When Diallo returns to United, he could thrive after Amorim finally made a tweak to his system.
In the 1-0 victory over Newcastle on Boxing Day, he went with four at the back with Patrick Dorgu playing in an advanced position on the right side.
⚽🔥 Amad Diallo scores
Ivory Coast take the lead against Cameroon 🇨🇮💥#beINSPORTS #AFCON2025 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 #AFCON #CAN2025 pic.twitter.com/OI4yxmrjpq— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) December 28, 2025
Manchester United team news
Manchester United will be hoping to maintain their momentum when they host rock-bottom Wolves on Tuesday evening.
The Red Devils may be without Mason Mount, who was taken off at half-time for youngster Jack Fletcher in the victory over Newcastle.
Speaking of his issue, Amorim said: “He felt something at half-time. He wanted to go [on] and that is also a good thing.
“He wanted to go to the second half, but we cannot lose more players, if you are not 100 per cent.
“And Jack did a very good job.”
Bruno Fernandes and Kobbie Mainoo remain sidelined.
