Get to know “AFCON 2023 top scorers” The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations is in full swing and Emilio Nsue is the leader at the top of the scorers chart with five goals, while former Everton player Ademola Lookman has left the likes of Mohamed Salah and teammate Victor Osimhen in the dust.
The tournament was due to be held last summer, but rain issues in Ivory Coast ensured it was delayed until January 2024.
As a result, many top players in European leagues have been forced to leave their domestic clubs mid-season in order to compete for their countries. Premier League stars Andre Onana, Mohamed Salah and Nicolas Jackson are among those who are set to miss club fixtures for AFCON.
Morocco headed into the tournament as favourites following their incredible run to the World Cup semi-finals in late 2022, but Ghana, Senegal, Algeria, Nigeria, Cameroon and hosts Ivory Coast were also considered likely to lift the trophy on 11 February.
Although the tournament is no longer blessed with stars such as Jay-Jay Okocha and Didier Drogba, there are still some big names in action at the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
As a result, the prize of ending the tournament as AFCON’s top goal-scorer is a highly coveted one.
So far, there has been a great variety of goal-scorers with only 16 players scoring more than once. The players with one goal to their name include Liverpool superstar Mohamed Salah, Napoli marksman Victor Osimhen and Al-Nassr midfielder Seko Fofana.
Salah scored a 97th-minute penalty to earn Egypt a point against Mozambique, while Osimhen also netted an equaliser, although his was less dramatic as it came in the 38th minute against Equatorial Guinea.
Salah’s tournament, however, could already be over as the 31-year-old suffered an injury that has turned out worse than initially expected.
Ex-Lens captain Fofana scored the opening goal of the tournament as hosts Ivory Coast beat Guinea-Bissau 2-0 in their first game. Aston Villa’s Bertrand Traore imitated Salah and scored a 96th-minute penalty to spare Burkina Faso’s blushes against Mauritania.
Senegal’s Lamine Camara was the only AFCON player to score more than once on Matchday 1 of the group stage.
On Matchday 2, Nsue’s hat-trick helped Equatorial Guinea to a 4-2 win over Guinea-Bissau and lifted him to the top of the Golden Boot standings.
On Matchday 3, the Equatorial Guinea star extended his lead by another two goals during his country’s humiliating 4-0 demolition of hosts Ivory Coast. He was unable to prevent a 1-0 defeat to Guinea in the Round of 16, however.
Algeria’s Baghdad Bounedjah and Salah’s team-mate Mostafa Mohamed have found the net three times so far, while West Ham’s Mohammed Kudus and Crystal Palace’s Jordan Ayew have scored twice.
Liverpool legend Sadio Mane got on the scoresheet in Senegal’s 3-1 defeat of Andre Onana’s Cameroon, while infamous Man Utd flop Bebe scored a stunning free-kick for Cape Verde in their 3-0 beatdown of Mozambique, with both goal-scorers helping their team to qualify for the knockouts.
Achraf Hakimi and Patson Daka both got off the mark on Sunday, 21 January, although neither could help their countries to victory.
Jordan Ayew’s aforementioned brace of penalties was not enough to save Chris Hughton’s Ghana from embarrassment as they surrendered a 2-0 lead over Mozambique in stoppage time on January 22, leaving their chances of advancing hanging in the balance.
On the same day, a Salah-less Egypt thought they had beaten Cape Verde when Mostafa Mohamed scored his third of the tournament in the 93rd minute, but they celebrated too soon as Bryan Teixeira amazingly netted in the 99th minute to make it 2-2 in a game that had 14 minutes of stoppage time.
On January 23, Mane’s Senegal and Cameroon, with Andre Onana surprisingly dropped, advanced from Group C, while Mauritania upset Algeria and bounced them from the tournament. Angola’s Mabululu joined the list of players to have scored more than once with his goal over Burkina Faso, which sealed top spot in Group D for his nation.
The following day of action saw a host of low-scoring affairs, with three of the four matches ending in goalless draws, while Hakim Ziyech scored the winner for Morocco over Zambia with the only goal of the day.
The round of 16 kicked off in peak AFCON style with Angola having a man sent off after 17 minutes against Namibia only for their opponents to also receive a red card in the 40th minute. Angola proceeded to hang three on the Southwest Africans, with Gelson Dala taking his tournament tally to four with a brace, while Mabululu scored again to reach three.
Later that same day, former Premier League winger Ademola Lookman scored his first two goals of the tournament as Nigeria overcame Cameroon 2-0, with Andre Onana again having been benched.
On January 29, Mohamed Bayo scored a 98th-minute winner for Guinea to seal their place in the quarter-final, while Mostafa Mohamed netted his fourth goal of the tournament as Egypt were knocked out in a crazy penalty shootout by DR Congo. The following day, Ryan Mendes notched his second strike of the competition to help Cape Verde advance past Mauritania in the battle of the surprise packages.
Sadio Mane followed ex-Liverpool teammate Mo Salah in getting knocked out prematurely on penalties when his Senegal side were defeated by hosts Ivory Coast in a dramatic shootout after Habib Diallo and Franck Kessie had cancelled each other out in regular time.
On January, 30, Mali knocked out Burkina Faso, with Lassine Sinayoko and Bertrand Traore both taking their tournament tally up to three goals, but the Villa man and his teammates will be heading home.
Later that day, the trend of favourites bowing out prematurely continued, with South Africa knocking out World Cup semi-finalists Morocco. Strikes from Evidence Makgopa and Teboho Mokoena proved crucial as the North Africans buckled under pressure. PSG’s Achraf Hakimi blasted a penalty off the crossbar and Man Utd’s Sofyan Amrabat got sent off late in the game.
The quarter-finals got underway with Nigeria beating surprise package Angola thanks to Ademola Lookman’s third goal of the tournament. Later on February 2, DR Congo brushed Guinea 3-1 aside, thanks to strikes from former Newcastle defender Chancel Mbemba, ex-West Ham full-back Arthur Masuaka and Yoanne Wissa, who netted his second of the competition. Mohamed Bayo’s third AFCON goal was a mere consolation.
2023 AFCON top goal-scorers
| Player | Nation | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Emilio Nsue | Equatorial Guinea | 5 |
| 2. Gelson Dala | Angola | 4 |
| = Mostafa Mohamed | Egypt | 4 |
| 4. Baghdad Bounedjah | Algeria | 3 |
| = Mabululu | Angola | 3 |
| = Bertrand Traore | Burkina Faso | 3 |
| = Lassine Sinayoko | Senegal | 3 |
| = Ademola Lookman | Nigeria | 3 |
| = Mohamed Bayo | Guinea | 3 |
| 10. Lamine Camara | Senegal | 2 |
| = Mohammed Kudus | Ghana | 2 |
| = Themba Zwane | South Africa | 2 |
| = Jordan Ayew | Ghana | 2 |
| = Ryan Mendes | Cape Verde | 2 |
| = Habib Diallo | Senegal | 2 |
| = Yoanne Wissa | DR Congo | 2 |
Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar won the top scorer award in 2022 (following a delay to the 2021 edition) after he bagged eight goals in just seven games as his nation finished third.
This year, he will be hoping to retain his crown but will face serious competition from a number of stars.
Mohamed Salah, Sadio Mane, Victor Osimhen, Nicolas Jackson, Riyad Mahrez, Youssef En-Nesyri, Sébastien Haller, Inaki Williams, Mohammed Kudus and Hakim Ziyech were among the favourites to end 2023 AFCON as the top-scorer before the tournament started.
What are the AFCON Golden Boot tiebreaker rules?
If two or more players finish level on goals at the top of the standings, the Golden Boot goes to the player with the most assists.
Africa Cup of Nations all-time top goal-scorers
| Player | Country | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1. Samuel Eto’o | Cameroon | 18 |
| 2. Laurent Pokou | Ivory Coast | 14 |
| 3. Rashidi Yekini | Nigeria | 13 |
| 4. Hassan El-Shazly | Egypt | 12 |
| 5. Patrick Mboma | Cameroon | 11 |
| = Hossam Hassan | Egypt | 11 |
| = Didier Drogba | Ivory Coast | 11 |
| 8. Ndaye Mulamba | DR Congo (Zaire) | 10 |
| = Francileudo Santos | Tunisia | 10 |
| = Joel Tiehi | Ivory Coast | 10 |
Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o is the top goal-scorer in Africa Cup of Nations history with 18 strikes in the competition. The ex-Barcelona, Inter and Chelsea forward scored in all six of his AFCON tournament appearances, including five in both 2006 and 2008.
Chelsea legend Didier Drogba is also included in the top 10 list of all-time AFCON goal-scorers thanks to his 11 goals in the competition. He is not the highest-scoring Ivory Coast player in Africa Cup of Nations history, however. Legendary striker Laurent Pokou netted 14 times in the tournament – the second-most ever.
Africa Cup of Nation Golden Boot winners
| Tournament | Player | Goals |
|---|---|---|
| 1957 | Ad El Diba (Egypt) | 5 |
| 1959 | Mahmoud El-Gohary (Egypt) | 3 |
| 1962 | Two players | 3 |
| 1963 | Hassan El-Shazly (Egypt) | 6 |
| 1965 | Three players | 3 |
| 1968 | Laurent Pokou (Ivory Coast) | 6 |
| 1970 | Laurent Pokou (Ivory Coast) | 8 |
| 1972 | Fantamady Keita (Mali) | 5 |
| 1974 | Ndaye Mulamba (Zaire/DR Congo) | 9 |
| 1976 | Mamadou Aliou Keïta (Guinea) | 4 |
| 1978 | Three players | 4 |
| 1980 | Two players | 3 |
| 1982 | George Alhassan (Ghana) | 4 |
| 1984 | Taher Abouzeid (Egypt) | 4 |
| 1986 | Roger Milla (Cameroon) | 4 |
| 1988 | Four players | 2 |
| 1990 | Djamel Menad (Algeria) | 4 |
| 1992 | Rashidi Yekini (Nigeria) | 4 |
| 1994 | Rashidi Yekini (Nigeria) | 5 |
| 1996 | Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia) | 5 |
| 1998 | Two players | 7 |
| 2000 | Shaun Bartlett (South Africa) | 5 |
| 2002 | Three players | 3 |
| 2004 | Four players | 4 |
| 2006 | Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) | 5 |
| 2008 | Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) | 5 |
| 2010 | Gedo (Egypt) | 5 |
| 2012 | Seven players | 3 |
| 2013 | Two players | 4 |
| 2015 | Five players | 3 |
| 2017 | Junior Kabananga (DR Congo) | 3 |
| 2019 | Odion Ighalo (Nigeria) | 5 |
| 2021 | Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) | 8 |
Mengistu Worku (Ethiopia) and Badawi Abdel Fattah (Egypt) both scored three goals in 1962.
Eustache Mangle (Ivory Coast), Osei Kofi (Ghana) and Ben Acheampong Simmons (Ghana) each scored three goals in 1965.
Opoku Afriyie (Ghana), Phillip Omondi (Uganda) and Segun Odegbami (Nigeria) each scored three goals in 1978.
Segun Odegbami (Nigeria) and Khalid Labied (Morocco) both scored three goals in 1980.
Lakhdar Belloumi (Algeria), Abdoulaye Traoré (Ivory Coast), Roger Milla (Cameroon) and Gamal Abdelhamid (Egypt) each scored two goals in 1988.
Hossam Hassan (Egypt) and Benni McCarthy (South Africa) both scored seven goals in 1998.
Patrick M’Boma (Cameroon), Salomon Olembé (Cameroon) and Julius Aghahowa (Nigeria) each scored three goals in 2002.
Patrick M’Boma (Cameroon), Jay-Jay Okocha (Nigeria), Frédéric Kanouté (Mali) and Francileudo Santos (Tunisia) each scored four goals in 2004.
Manucho (Angola), Houssine Kharja (Morocco), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Christopher Katongo (Zambia), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Emmanuel Mayuka (Zambia) and Cheick Diabaté (Mali) all scored three goals in 2012.
Emmanuel Emenike (Nigeria) and Mubarak Wakaso (Ghana) both scored four goals in 2013.
Thievy Bifouma (Congo), André Ayew (Ghana), Dieumerci Mbokani (DR Congo), Ahmed Akaïchi (Tunisia) and Javier Balboa (Equatorial Guinea) all scored three goals in 2015.
