The 2023 African Cup of Nations in its 34th edition, kicking off in Ivory Coast tomorrow, Saturday, promises a fierce competition among the stars of the Dark Continent.
They aim not only to shine but also to lead their teams to unprecedented success and inscribe their names in golden letters in the annals of the African championship.
The spotlight in AFCON 2023 shines on several stars, notably Mohamed Salah, the captain of the Egyptian national team and the top scorer for English side Liverpool, Victor Osimhen, the Nigerian striker and Serie A’s goal-scorer, Vincent Aboubakar, the captain of the Cameroonian national team, Riyad Mahrez with the Algerian national team, and Sadio Mane, the striker and top scorer for the Senegalese national team.
All of them are in a fierce competition for the title of the top scorer in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
These stars plan to set historical records in the tournament’s striker contest, aiming to surpass the legendary Ndaye Mulamba’s record.
Mulamba, the former star of the Zaire national team, holds the record for the most goals scored in a single edition, with nine goals in the 1974 African Cup of Nations held in Egypt.
This remains the highest number of goals scored by a player in a single edition.
In recent years, most African players have failed to reach or surpass Mulamba’s record, hoping to break the jinx in the current edition.
It is worth mentioning that Vincent Aboubakar, the Cameroonian star of the Indomitable Lions, came close to equalling Mulamba’s record in the last edition held in Cameroon after scoring eight goals.
Still, he fell short of matching the former Zaire striker’s historical achievement.
Mulamba remains the all-time top scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, holding this title for half a century.
Some players in the current edition of the Africa Cup of Nations are seeking to pursue or break Samuel Eto’o’s record.
Eto’o, the Cameroonian player and the all-time top scorer in the history of the Africa Cup of Nations, has 18 goals to his name, surpassing the runner-up Laurent Pokou, the former Ivorian national team striker, who scored 14 goals.
This sets up a special contest for the historical top scorer title.
Ghanaian striker Andre Ayew is considered one of the leading candidates to approach Samuel Eto’o’s record and surpass Laurent Pokou in the striker contest.
Ayew has scored 10 goals in the tournament.
Similarly, Cameroonian striker Vincent Aboubakar, who has nine goals, has a special opportunity, having scored eight goals in the last edition and winning the tournament’s top scorer title.
Also in the competition are Senegalese Sadio Mane with eight goals and the Arab trio: Egyptian star Mohamed Salah, Tunisian Youssef Msakni, and Algerian Riyad Mahrez, each having six goals to their credit.
