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Africa Cup of Nations Top Scorers

The Africa Cup of Nations is one of the most prestigious tournaments for African players. There have been 33 different editions since it was founded in 1957. Famous footballers like Sadio Mane, Didier Drogba, and Samuel Eto’o have participated in this tournament. This article features such goal scores and speaks about some of the African players who have scored the highest number of goals in AFCON.

Who Are The Top Scorers In The Africa Cup Of Nations?

17. Manucho (9 Goals)

Credit: The Telegraph

Manucho played for Angola. He has scored nine goals in the Africa Cup of Nations. The Angolan represented his nation across three Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He played in 2008, 2010, and 2012 AFCON. Manucho scored four goals in the 2008 tournament. This is the most he has ever managed in a single campaign. The striker scored two and three goals in the 2010 and 2012 tournaments, respectively, totalling nine goals.

16. Abdoulaye Traore (9 Goals)

Lahcen Ouadani of Morocco and Abdoulaye Traore of Ivory Coast during the 3rd place match playoff at 1986 AFCON pic.twitter.com/BBK1FtPdXP

— AfricaFootballClassics (@AfricaClassic) March 23, 2020

Traore ended his career with nine AFCON goals. He managed to score in five different editions of the tournament. His best scoring run came in his first tournament in 1986. Traore scored three goals for Ivory Coast. He scored two, two, one, and one goal in 1988, 1990, 1992, and 1994. 1996 was the first Abdoulaye Traore failed to score in an Africa Cup of Nations campaign.

15. Vincent Aboubakar (9 Goals)

Vincent Aboubakar's eight goals at #Afcon2021 is the second-most at a single Africa Cup of Nations in the tournament's history 👏 pic.twitter.com/oVa6vN7kQQ

— GOAL (@goal) February 5, 2022

Vincent Aboubakar has nine Africa Cup of Nations goals in sixteen appearances. The striker represents Cameroon. He participated in the 2015, 2017, 2021, and 2023 tournaments. Aboubakar has an impressive 0.56 goals-per-game ratio.

14. Sadio Mane (9 Goals)

2017 ✅
2019 ✅
2021 ✅
2023 ✅

Sadio Mane scores at his fourth successive AFCON 🌍🇸🇳⚽️ pic.twitter.com/FQXWWN2X9N

— LiveScore (@livescore) January 19, 2024

Sadio Mane has played in five different Africa Cup of Nations tournaments. He has scored nine goals for Senegal in 22 games, making his goals-per-game ratio 0.41. Sadio Mane’s first appearance at the AFCON came in 2015. However, the Senegalese forward failed to score in the tournament. Since then, Mane has played in four more AFCON tournaments and scored in all four.

13. Andre Ayew (10 Goals)

Andre Ayew made his first appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations when he was just 18 years old. Since then, Ayew has played in an astonishing total of eight AFCON tournaments. Unsurprisingly, Ayew finds himself on this list, given the number of games he has played. The striker has scored 10 goals in 36 appearances. He has the lowest goals-per-game ratio on this list, sitting at 0.28 goals per game.

12. Kalusha Bwalya (10 Goals)

Credit: Egypt & Africa

Kalusha Bwalya represented Zambia. He played in six African Cup of Nations tournaments between 1986 and 2000. With 10 goals scored across these six different AFCON tournaments, Kalusha Bwalya is his nation’s top scorer in these tournaments.

11. Mengistu Worku (10 Goals)

Mengistu Worku played for Ethiopia. He helped his country win the 1962 Africa Cup of Nations title. Worku participated in six AFCON tournaments, scoring 10 goals for his nation. He scored these 10 goals in just 17 appearances, making his goals-per-game ratio 0.59. With ten goals in the tournament, Worku is Ethiopia’s top goal scorer in the Africa Cup of Nations.

10. Joel Tiehi (10 Goals)

Credit: Football Betting

Joel Tiehi played for Ivory Coast. He played in four different Africa Cup of Nations for his nation. Tiehi played in the 1992, 1994, 1996, and 1998 AFCON tournaments. He scored 10 times in these tournaments.

9. Francileudo Santos (10 Goals)

Credit: Alchetron

Francileudo Santos played for Tunisia from 2004 to 2008. He played in three different Africa Cup of Nations tournaments during this time. The forward managed to score 10 goals for his nation in 12 appearances. This gives Santos a very respectable goals-per-game ratio of 0.83.

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8. Ndaye Mulamba (10 Goals)

Congo DR icon Mulamba Ndaye has died at the age of 70.

Ndaye scored a record-breaking 9⃣ goals to help the country (then Zaire) win the 1974 #AFCON and become the first sub-Saharan team to reach the #WorldCup #RIP pic.twitter.com/WQhUKdSJ63

— FIFA World Cup (@FIFAWorldCup) January 28, 2019

Ndaye Mulamba participated in just two Africa Cup of Nations. He represented DR Congo. He played in the 1974 and 1976 AFCON tournaments. He scored 10 goals in just 10 games, giving him an impressive 1.0 goals per game ratio.

7. Didier Drogba (11 Goals)

Didier Drogba is regarded as one of the best African footballers to have ever lived. He was a prolific goal scorer; therefore, it is no surprise to see him on this list. Didier Drogba played for Ivory Coast and managed to score 11 goals for them in the Africa Cup of Nations. He did so across five different AFCON campaigns.

6. Hossam Hassan (11 Goals)

Credit: Pinterest

Hossam Hassan played in seven different Africa Cup of Nations for Egypt. While he participated in seven different tournaments, he played only 21 games. In these 21 games, he scored 11 goals, giving him a respectable goals-per-game average of 0.52.

5. Patrick Mboma (11 Goals)

Patrick Mboma scores this thunderbolt against DR Congo at 2002 AFCON. pic.twitter.com/mOkFXS6FYe

— AfricaFootballClassics (@AfricaClassic) March 31, 2020

Patrick Mboma played for Cameroon from 1995 to 2004. He participated in the AFCON tournaments in 1998, 2000, 2002, and 2004. Across these four tournaments, he scored 11 goals for his national team in just 17 games.

4. Hassan El-Shazly (12 Goals)

With 12 Days 7 hours 14 minutes 12 seconds left for the AFCON

Hassan El-Shazly scored 12 goals for Egypt in AFCON to be their highest goal scorer in the competition history.#AFCON2023 #AFCONwithPhenom pic.twitter.com/B8SIgCS4Pe

— Phenom Akpan (@phenomakpan) January 1, 2024

Hassan El-Shazly is Egypt’s top goal scorer in the Africa Cup of Nations. While El-Shazly only played eight games across three AFCON editions, he scored 12 goals. He has the highest goals-per-game average on this list, with an average of a whopping 1.50 goals per game.

3. Rashidi Yekini (13 Goals)

Rashidi Yekini is the third-highest goal scorer ever in the Africa Cup of Nations. He represented Nigeria in four different editions of AFCON. The forward scored 13 goals for his nation in 20 games. His best run of goals came in his final AFCON appearance. The Nigerian scored five goals in the 1994 Africa Cup of Nations.

2. Laurent Pokou (14 Goals)

He was so great that CAF and Puma had to name the official match ball after him for AFCON! Today we honor the legend Laurent Pokou pic.twitter.com/H77vJTYmHn

— Black Soccer’s 30 for 30 (@CIKIFC) February 7, 2024

Laurent Pokou is another player from Ivory Coast on this list. Pokou only played in 12 matches in this tournament. Yet the striker managed to leave a significant mark in this tournament. He is the second-highest goal scorer in AFCON history. The Ivory Coast international scored 14 goals in 12 appearances in the tournament.

1. Samuel Eto’o (18 Goals)

Credit: Eurosport

Samuel Eto’o is arguably the best African player ever. He backs up this claim by being the top goal scorer in AFCON history. Eto’o played in six different editions of the tournament and managed to score 18 goals in the tournament. This is a record which will remain with Eto’o for quite some time.

For more news and updates on the Africa Cup of Nations, keep reading GutshotMagazine.com. Follow us on Facebook, Instagram, Twitter and  Telegram.

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