AFCON 2023: Mane, Osimhen, Salah and the Stars Who Could Win the Golden Boot in Ivory Coast

• The Africa Cup of Nations is set to kick off in Ivory Coast on January 13
• A host of Africa's stars are poised to leave their mark on the competition
• Sports Brief highlights players who could win the tournament’s Golden Boot

The stage is set, and Ivory Coast will be playing host to the 23 nations vying to win the prestigious Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) trophy.

Over the next month, the footballing landscape of the continent is destined to be ablaze with discussions surrounding this prestigious biennial competition. A plethora of elite African stars are prepared to pour their hearts onto the field, representing their beloved nations.

Recent editions of the competition have witnessed a goal-scoring spree, with a remarkable report from beIN Sports highlighting that the last two tournaments saw participating teams collectively score over 100 goals.

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With the showpiece in Ivory Coast boasting an unprecedented calibre of attacking talents, Sports Brief takes a look at five stars that could be gunning for the competition’s Golden Boot award.

Sadio Mane — Senegal

The Al-Nassr star heads into the AFCON with the sole aim of defending his team’s title from the 2021 edition.

Mane’s start to the 2023/24 season puts him well on course for a stellar tournament.

In 30 official games for the Riyadh-based club, the 31-year-old has found the back of the net 12 times and provided an additional six assists.

Victor Osimhen — Nigeria

The 2023 African Footballer of the Year, for many, is the player to keep a close eye on in Ivory Coast.

The Napoli forward comes into this edition of the competition, having found the back of the net 31 times in 39 appearances for his Serie A club. Additionally, he boasts 10 goals in the six AFCON qualification fixtures, as reported by Whoscored.

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Mohamed Salah — Egypt

The Egyptian striker has maintained his characteristic prolific goal-scoring form since the commencement of the 2023/24 season.

The forward, who is still in search of his maiden AFCON crown, has been involved in 31 goals in 29 games for both club and country so far.

Salah will be leading the line for Rui Vitoria’s men and will hope his goals can help them coast to victory.

Vincent Aboubakar — Cameroon

The 31-year-old mercurial forward has never failed to show his impeccable prowess in front of goal whenever he dons the colours of the Indomitable Lions. Approaching a century of appearances with the Cameroonian national team, the Besiktas forward aims to replicate his success from the 2021 edition, where he secured the tournament's top scorer award by netting eight goals.

Serhou Guirassy — Guinea

The 27-year-old’s purple patch in front of goal continues as he was on hand to ensure victory for his Bundesliga club, VfB Stuttgart, in their final fixture of 2023 against FC Augsburg.

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Guirassy, who is indeed experiencing a season to remember for ages, has been involved in 21 goals in 18 appearances across all competitions since the start of the season, per stats from Fotmob. The Syli National forward aspires to play a pivotal role in guiding his nation to success in the Ivory Coast tournament.

Past AFCON Golden Ball winners

Sports Brief in a previous report, highlighted the complete list of Golden Ball award winners from previous AFCON tournaments.

Senegalese forward Mane was the last player to win the Golden Ball, taking home the award in the 2021 edition in Cameroon.

The Al-Nassr star led Senegal to their maiden championship, scoring the winning goal in the penalty shootout against Egypt.