Fastest Goals in AFCON History: Who Scored in the 1st Minute of an Africa Cup of Nations Match?

• Seven players have scored goals in the opening minute of an AFCON match
• Hassan El-Shazly became the first player to accomplish that feat in 1974
• Tijani Babangida scored a first-minute goal for Nigeria in the semis in 2000

Many African football players dream of scoring a goal in the Africa Cup of Nations.

Only a select few have scored in the opening minute of an AFCON match.

Sports Brief looks at the players who have scored the fastest goals in AFCON history.

Fastest goals in AFCON history

Hassan El-Shazly (Egypt, 1974)

El-Shazly became the first player to score in the first minute of an AFCON match, accomplishing the feat in Egypt’s 2-0 win over Ivory Coast in 1974.

El-Shazly and Egypt failed to win the championship after losing to Zaire 3-2 in the semi-finals. They defeated Congo 4-0 in the third-place match to grab the bronze medal.

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Cherif Fetoui (Morocco, 1976)

Fetoui became the second player in AFCON history to score in the first minute, achieving the feat in Morocco’s 2-2 draw with Congo in 1976 during the group stage.

Morocco went on to win their first-ever continental championship after topping the final group with five points.

Phillip Omondi (Uganda, 1978)

Omondi became the third player to score in the first minute of an AFCON game, pulling off the feat in Uganda’s 3-1 win over Congo in 1978.

He needed just 45 seconds to open the scoring for Uganda, who went on to reach the final of the tournament. They fell short in their bid to win the championship, though, losing 2-0 to Ghana in the final.

Tueba Menayame (Zaire, 1992)

It took 14 years before another African player scored in the first minute of an AFCON match. Menayame accomplished that feat in 1992 when he opened the scoring in Zaire’s 1-1 draw with Cameroon.

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Menayame and Zaire failed to win the championship after losing 1-0 to Nigeria in the quarter-finals.

Ayman Mansour (Egypt, 1994)

Mansour made history in 1994 when he scored the fastest goal ever in the Africa Cup of Nations. He opened the scoring after just 23 seconds in Egypt’s 4-0 win over Gabon.

Mansour and Egypt failed to win the title after losing 1-0 to Mali in the quarter-finals.

Tijani Babangida (Nigeria, 2000)

Babangida became the sixth player to score in the first minute of an AFCON match, accomplishing the feat in Nigeria’s 2-0 win over South Africa in the semi-finals in 2000.

Babangida and Nigeria failed to win the championship, however, after losing to Cameroon 4-3 in a penalty shootout in the final.

Soufiane Alloudi (Morocco, 2008)

Alloudi was the last player to score in the first minute of an AFCON game, achieving the feat in Morocco’s 5-1 victory over Namibia in 2008.

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It was a special day for Alloudi, who went on to score a hat-trick in that contest after bagging goals in the fifth and 28th minutes.

Alloudi and Morocco failed to advance to the knockout round, however, after they lost their following group stage matches against Guinea and Ghana.

Fastest hat-tricks in AFCON history

Sports Brief also previously reported on the fastest hat-tricks in AFCON history.

Benni McCarthy scored four goals in South Africa's victory over Namibia in 1998.

He scored all of those goals in a 14-minute span in the first quarter of that clash.