AFCON: 5 Players Who Scored Most Goals in a Single Tournament

• The 2023 Africa Cup of Nations kicks off in a few days in Ivory Coast
• Some past players have taken the competition by storm with goals
• DR Congo’s Ndaye Mulamba is the top scorer in a single tournament

The battle to crown Africa’s next champion is only eight days away from starting in Ivory Coast, as countries step up their preparation ahead of the tournament.

The continent looks forward to having some players deliver their best performances at the event and seeing some records get broken and rewritten.

Sports Brief looks at the players who have scored the most goals in a single AFCON.

Players with most goals in a single AFCON

1. Ndaye Mulamba

Per Sportskeeda, the late Democratic Republic of Congo (formerly Zaire) striker holds the record for most goals in a single tournament, scoring nine to help his country claim glory in Egypt in 1974. He passed away in 2019.

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2. Laurent Pokou

The Ivorian legend scored 14 goals in two AFCON tournaments, six in 1968 and eight in 1970. Per CAF Online, the 2023 official match ball was named after him. His five goals in the 6-1 win over Ethiopia in 1970 remains a single-match record.

2. Vincent Aboubakar

The Cameroonian dazzled on home soil in 2021, scoring eight goals in the competition to win the Golden Boot. Cameroon fell short of glory and settled for third place, beating Burkina Faso in the playoffs.

3. Hossam Hassan, Benni McCarthy

93 goals were scored at the 1998 AFCON hosted in Burkina Faso – 14 of those goals were scored by Egypt’s Hossam Hassan and South Africa’s Benni McCarthy, who scored seven each. Both teams met in the final, and the North Africans won.

Per Goal, McCarthy scored four goals in 13 minutes in the 4-1 rout of Namibia and claimed it was to shove bananas up their throats after they inundated him with banana chants months earlier.

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4. Hassan El-Shazly

The Egyptian legend was the top scorer and the best player in the 1963 AFCON with six goals despite Egypt (United Arab Republic) finishing third. He passed away in 2015.

Eight players have scored five goals each in a tournament, including Cameroonian legend Samuel Eto’s who scored five goals in consecutive competition.

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5 countries with 100+ AFCON goals

Sports Brief reported on countries with 100+ AFCON goals, with the tournament starting nine days from today in Ivory Coast.

Unsurprisingly, seven-time champions Egypt, who have featured in the most tournaments, 25, and played the most games, 107, have scored the most goals with 168.