The final international games of the calendar year have come to an end as African nations have their fate in their next AFCON tournament confirmed, as the qualification campaign was concluded.

Four-time champions, the Black Stars of Ghana, will not be involved in Morocco 2024, while there will also be room for Cape Verde and Guinea. Zimbabwe secured qualification despite being the least ranked nation in their group.

In South America, Brazil recorded no wins in November while Argentina edged Peru for their only win. Ecuador, the only nation to win both of their games, overtakes three nations to move third on the CONMEBOL World Cup qualifiers.

FIFA World Cup status of nations in other continents is also close to being confirmed, although the road ended for some. The Nations League in Europe and North America also provided an exciting spectacle during the break.

From the soil of Africa to the other continents of the world, we take a look at the names of players who impressed the most, joining Viktor Gyokeres in our list of selected top performers of the November 2024 international games.

Top Performers of November 2024 International Games 

Africa — CAF AFCON Qualifiers 

Brahim Diaz of Morocco 

The sensational attacking midfielder continues his good start to life with Morocco following his switch of international allegiances.

The Real Madrid man scored five goals in the two games of the break despite playing a combined 126 minutes. First a brace against Gabon, followed by a first-half hat-trick against Lesotho in the final game of the break.

Diaz, who scored in each of his four appearances in the qualifiers, finished with seven goals, making him the outright top scorer, one ahead of Guinea's Serhou Guirassy.

Kamory Doumbia of Mali

The Brest attacker scored the lone goal to help beat Mozambique in the top-of-the-table decider, before following it up with one goal and as many assists in the thrashing of Eswatini in the final game.

Doumbia, 21, who had not featured for Mali in the qualifier, made the most of his two appearances to continue his impressive form for his country, taking his goal contributions in 16 Malian appearances to nine goals and four assists.

Habib Diarra of Senegal

The 20-year-old was Teranga Lions' hero of the international break with three vital goals, which were all Aliou Cisse's side managed in their two qualifying games in November.

With the ticket to Morocco 2025 already secured, the match against Burkina Faso was to determine who would win the group. Diarra was introduced with 26 minutes left to play in Bamako, and he made the difference by scoring a late winner.

He was rewarded with a start for the final group game, and the Strasbourg attacker repaid kindness with another masterclass, scoring both goals in a 2-0 win over Burundi.

Asia — AFC FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

Fabio Lima of the United Arab Emirates

The 31-year-old was very productive during the break, and was his country, the UAE, which completed an 8-0 aggregate result in their wins against Kyrgyzstan and Qatar.

Lima was directly involved in six of those eight goals, starting with a brace of assists in the first game of the break, where the team floored Kyrgyzstan in Abu Dhabi before scoring a hat-trick in a 5-0 win over Qatar.

Europe — UEFA Nations League 

Viktor Gyokeres of Sweden

Another incredible outing for the Sporting CP striker saw him score five goals and assist one in two games for Sweden, ensuring he finished as the UEFA Nations League Group stage top scorer with nine goals.

In addition to scoring goals, Gyokeres is also the top assister with four, taking his goal contributions to 13 in six games, taking every opportunity to impress in the League C, to see Sweden gain promotion to the company of more worthy opponents.

He started with a goal and an assist performance against Slovakia before netting a hat-trick against Azerbaijan, taking his international goals to 16 in 27 games, while he now has 32 goals and eight assists in 24 games for club and country this season.

Antonio Nusa and Erling Haaland of Norway 

The duo were directly involved in nine goals in two games as Norway thrashed Slovenia and Kazakhstan on their way to finishing top of Group 3 of the UEFA Nations League B.

Nusa scored a brace while Erling Haaland scored one and set up another in a 4-1 win over Slovenia, before a Haaland hat-trick and a Nusa goal and assist sealed a 5-1 win over a helpless Kazakhstan.

Nusa, in particular, was a joy to watch with his dribbling and playmaking. He completed 12 dribbles in the two games combined, taking his total to 26, the most in League B.

Erling Haaland, with four goals, including his 25th career hat-trick, takes his total to seven, making him the top scorer of the UEFA Nations League group stage. 

Cristiano Ronaldo of Portugal 

The Portuguese great featured in only one of his country's two games, bagged a brace of goals and one assist to secure a 5-1 win over Poland, ensuring Roberto Martinez's side finish top of Group 2 of the UEFA Nations League Group A.

He scored his first with a Panenka penalty and completed his brace with a spectacular overhead kick goal, taking his professional goal tally to 910. He then set up Pedro Neto to cap off a Player of the Match display.

Despite ñot featuring in the final game against Croatia, Cristiano Ronaldo finished top scorer of League A with five goals, at least two more than any other player.

Liam Cullen of Wales

In his only start of the international break, the Swansea City attacker finally opened his account for his country, scoring his first goals and assists in a 4-2 win over Iceland.

Cullen, marking his seventh appearance for Wales since his debut in June 2023, scored two goals and assisted two in a spectacular display in Cardiff to ensure Wales sealed top spot in Group 4 of the UEFA Nations League B.

Oceania — OFC FIFA World Cup Qualifiers

Chris Wood and Matthew Garbett of New Zealand 

In two the games of the break, during which their team took on Vanuatu and Samoa, winning by an aggregate of 16-1, Wood and Garbett were both heavily involved, combining for eleven of the goals.

Nottingham Forest striker Chris Wood scored five goals, including a hat-trick, in the 8-0 thrashing of Samoa to cement his status as the top scorer in the qualifiers — Wood's six goals is more than managed by any other side, bar his country and New Caledonia.

Matthew Garbett started the break with a goal and hat-trick of assists against Vanuatu before scoring a brace of assists against Samoa to take his goal involvements to six, and send New Zealand into the semi-final of the final round of the FIFA World Cup qualifier.

North America — CONCACAF Nations League 

Dorny Romero and Heinz Morschel of the Dominican Republic

It was a memorable outing for Dorny Romero. The 26-year-old striker scored six goals in two games, starting the break with a brace against Dominica and signing off with a hat-trick against Bermuda.

Teammate Heinz Morscel also had a fun one. The midfielder scored twice and assisted one in Dominica, while against Bermuda, he scored once and registered a brace of assists.

Jearl Magaritha of Curaçao 

The 24-year-old's wait for his first international goals finally came to an end as he scored four times in his country's 5-0 win away to Saint Martin in their first game of the break, while he assisted two of their goals in the 4-1 victory against Saint Lucia.

Frantzdy Pierrot of Haiti

The AEK Athens striker scored four goals in the two games, including a hat-trick in their first one against a helpless Sint Maarten, who conceded eight without a response in Puerto Rico.

Osaze De Rosario of Guyana

The striker was at his best for his country as they took on Barbados over two legs during the break — De Rosario scored one and assisted one in a 4-1 first-leg win, they he produced a hat-trick in the reverse fixture, as Guyana won 5-3.

South America — CONMEBOL World Cup Qualifiers

Lucas Cepeda of Chile

On his first-ever start for the Chilean national team, the 22-year-old forward inspired the team to a 4-2 win over Venezuela to put an end to an eight-game winless run and secure the first competitive win since October 2023.

In his only appearance of the break, the Colo Colo star scored twice and assisted one of the four goals in a performance he'll not forget so soon, as it also helped his country move out of the bottom of the table.

Enner Valencia of Ecuador 

The captain was decisive for his country as they racked up maximum points from their two games of the international break, amassing two goals and as many assists in the two games combined.

In the first match against Bolivia, Valencia scored the opener from the spot and assisted twice before his withdrawal just after the hour mark as Ecuador went on to complete a 4-0 win.

He scored a fabulous solo goal in the seventh minute of the second game away to Colombia and was withdrawn at half-time. That happened to be the only goal of the game, and Ecuador, the only country to win both their games of the November 2024 CONMEBOL World Cup qualifier, moves third, overtaking Paraguay, Brazil, and Colombia.