In January 2024, while domestic competition continues around the world, international football will take center stage in the Ivory Coast.
The tournament has been tinkered with on a regular basis – with Guinea originally intended to fill the role of hosts, only for everything to get pushed back when Cameroon were stripped of the 2019 event and given two more years to get things right for 2021.
It was also planned to stage the event, which sits in the middle of campaigns across Europe, in the summer of 2023. That decision had to be revised, leading to the Africa Cup of Nations reverting back to its historical place in the schedule just after the turn of a calendar year.
Ultimate
While some club bosses may not be too happy about that, as they prepare to part with prized assets at a crucial stage of the season, interest in the tournament will be piqued from Calgary to Cape Town due to the caliber of players involved.
The likes of Senegal, Cameroon, and Morocco are all expected to go well, with soccer betting struggling to split those towards the top of a crowded and talent-loaded market.
Any team harboring ambitions of going all the way is going to need a goalscorer in order to collect the ultimate prize.
There will be plenty of those on the show – from Mohamed Salah to Sadio Mane via Taiwo Awoniyi and Youssef En-Nesyri – but who are the greatest marksmen ever to grace Afcon?
1. Samuel Eto’o — 18 goals
The GOAT of African football, former Barcelona, Inter and Chelsea striker Eto’o competed in six Africa Cup of Nations, scoring 18 goals in 29 matches and claiming the title on two occasions in 2000 and 2002.
2. Laurent Pokou — 14 goals
Ivorian hot-shot Pokou won the Afcon Golden Boot twice – in 1968 and 1970 – and found the target 14 times in total through just 12 appearances, giving him a staggering goals-per-match ratio of 1.17.
3. Rashidi Yekini — 13 goals
Yekini scored Nigeria’s first-ever goal at the World Cup finals and is his country’s all-time leading scorer. Of the 37 efforts he recorded for the Super Eagles, 13 came at the Africa Cup of Nations.
4. Hassan El-Shazly — 12 goals
El-Shazly boasts the best goals-per-match record of anybody on this list, with the Egyptian icon managing to hit the net 12 times in just eight games at African football’s flagship event.
5. Patrick Mboma
— 11 goals
Mboma – who represented the likes of PSG and Parma at club level – helped Cameroon to Olympic gold medal glory and two continental crowns. He scored 11 Afcon goals when operating alongside Eto’o.
6. Hossam Hassan — 11 goals
Hassan earned 176 caps for Egypt and captained them to Africa Cup of Nations glory in 2006 – his third triumph in the competition. The Al Ahly legend hit 11 Afcon goals in total after appearing at seven different tournaments. He is one of the most decorated African footballers of all time.
7. Didier Drogba — 11 goals
A Premier League icon from his two spells at Chelsea, Champions League winner Drogba figured in five Afcons and registered 11 goals but was never able to get his hands on the most prestigious of trophies. He is indeed an African football legend.
Powers
Prolific members from the Afcon class of 2024 will expect to force their way up the all-time goal chart while performing at the peak of their powers, but whether anybody can chase down Eto’o remains to be seen as his stunning exploits appear set to stand the test of time.
