AFCON 2023: 5 Records That Were Broken During Ivory Coast Edition

• The 2023 Africa Cup of has come to an end with Ivory Coast claiming the trophy
• The 34th edition of the tournament has been claimed to be the best by the stats
• Multiple records were broken over the four weeks of the continental competition

Ivory Coast emerged as the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations winners after the hosts defeated Nigeria 2-1 in the final on February 11 in front of over 55,000 fans at the Alassane Ouattara Stadium, Abidjan.

Borussia Dortmund forward, Sebastien Haller, was the hero for the Elephants as he scored what would be the winner in the final 10 minutes of the encounter, to complete a comeback win for the hosts.

According to Notjustok, the Ivorians became the first country to host and win an AFCON competition for the first time in 18 years since Egypt achieved the feat in 2006.

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It is also their first AFCON trophy since their last triumph in 2015, while Nigeria failed to add to the three titles in their cabinet after successes in 1980, 1994, and 2013.

With the edition now wrapped up, Sports Brief takes a look at the five most eye-catching records broken at the 34th edition of the tournament hosted in Ivory Coast.

5 amazing records set at AFCON 2023

1. Highest number of goals scored

The 2023 edition is the third to produce more than 100 goals and set the record for most goals with 119. Equatorial Guinea’s Emilio Nsue Lopez won the Golden Boot with five goals.

2. Highest-scoring defender in AFCON

Super Eagles captain, William Troost-Ekong, officially became the highest-scoring defender in the history of the AFCON with five goals after scoring in the final against Ivory Coast.

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The Nigerian defender scored throughout the AFCON and overtook the previous record held by former Nigeria defender and coach, Steven Keshi, who had four goals.

3. Highest appearance at AFCON tournaments

Youssef Msakni of Tunisia and Ghana's Andre Ayew have tied the record for the most appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations, with this being their eighth appearance, joining Rigobert Song of Cameroon and Ahmed Hassan of Egypt.

4. Ronwen Williams's penalty heroics

Cape Verde (and many more) will remember South Africa goalkeeper, Ronwen Williams, for his amazing saves in the quarter-final match. The Mamelodi Sundowns goalie became the first keeper in the Africa Cup of Nations and in a FIFA recognised competition history to save four penalties in a shootout.

Williams also won the golden gloves of the tournament by defeating Nigeria's shot-stopper, Stanley Nwabali.

5. Most medals in AFCON history

After finishing second, Nigeria extended their record as the nation with the most medals (gold, bronze, and silver). The Super Eagles now have 16 medals in total, with Egypt (13 medals) and Ghana (10 medals) in second and third place, respectively.

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Ivory Coast claims third AFCON title

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Haller was the hero after netting the winner as Ivory Coast came from a goal down to beat Nigeria in the AFCON 2023 final.

The Super Eagles took the lead before half-time thanks to Troost-Ekong, but Franck Kessie equalised after the interval before the result went beyond Nigeria.