As curtains come down on the premier football competition in Africa, the African Cup of Nations, it is another celebration of the milestones the continentโs football has scored, know the list of AFCON 2022 awards
Senegal won the 2021 gong, their first ever AFCON title, but that wasnโt the only first witnessed at the competition.
For the first time since the 1970s, a player managed to finish the AFCON competition with eight goals. Yes, and that is despite the competition being slammed for a slow start, which saw very few goals scored in the opening rounds in the group stages.
AFCON 2022 Awards List: Golden Boot Winner And Top Goal Scorers This Edition
Whereas Senegal forward Sadio Mane wins the plaudits and higher ratings on SportyTrader previews for leading his nation to the 2021 title,ย football tips todayย would have Cameroon forwardย Vincent Aboubakarย among the top men after his haul ofย eight goalsย in the competition, and thatโs despite failing to score in the quarters and semi finals. It is also worth noting that it was Vincent Aboubakarโs goal that won Cameroon the 2017 AFCON title, in a 2-1 victory over Egypt.
Aboubakarโs performance at the competition is worth a mention as he has now joined a group of elite African footballers who lit up the competition in years gone. The man with the most goals ever at a single AFCON competition remains DR Congoโsย Ndaye Mulamba, who scored nine goalsย in the 1974 tournament in Egypt. He led his country to win the title in the tournament and was named the Most Valuable Player.
In scoring eight, Aboubakar leveled Cote dโIvoireโsย Laurent Pokouโs tally of eightย in Sudan 1970. Pokouโs name remains etched in the history of African football as this was the second consecutive time he finished as lead scorer, having netted six in Ethiopia 1968. In 1970, Pokou was also named the tournamentโs Most Valuable Player.
Egyptianย Hossam Hassanย and South Africaโsย Benni McCarthyย scoredย seven goals eachย in the 1998 tournament in Burkina Faso to place their names in the history books of the biggest football showpiece in Africa. South Africa went to that competition as the defending champions, having won the title at home, but it was Egypt who took the ultimate prize after a 2-0 win over South Africa. Hossam Hassan scored in that game, but McCarthy was named the tournamentโs Most Valuable Player.
One key stat about AFCON top scorers is that only six players have managed to win the gong in two different competitions and curiously, all these have been in back to back tournaments. Laurent Pokou, as mentioned, won it in 1968 and 1970 then Nigeriaโs Segun Odegbami won it in 1978 and 1980.
The great Roger Milla of Cameroon bagged it in 1986 and 1988 then Nigeriaโs Rashid Yekini claimed the prize in the 1992 and 1994 tournaments. Cameroonโs Patrick Mboma was the lead scorer in 2002 and 2004 before passing the gong to his compatriot, Samuel Etoโo, to win it in the 2006 and 2008 editions with five goals in each of the competitions.
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