Finishing as AFCON top goal scorer in any edition of Africa's biggest football tournament is a dream many African football stars wish to achieve before retirement.
It was a dream come true for Emilio Nsue of Equatorial Guinea who finished as the AFCON top goal scorer in the 34th edition which took place in Ivory Coast despite exiting the competition in the Round of 16.
Many incredible players participated in the tournament but surprisingly, it was Nsue who netted 5 of the 119 goals scored in AFCON 2023.
Here is a complete table containing the names of players who found the back of the net.
2023 AFCON top goal scorers
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2023 AFCON scorers table |
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| Player | Country | Goals | |
| Emilio Nsue | Equatorial Guinea | 5 | |
| Gelson Dala | Angola | 4 | |
| Mostafa Mohamed | Egypt | 4 | |
| Ademola Lookman | Nigeria | 3 | |
| Mohamed Bayo | Guinea | 3 | |
| Lassine Sinayoko | Mali | 3 | |
| Bertrand Traore | Burkina Faso | 3 | |
| Agostinho Mabululu | Angola | 3 | |
| Baghdad Bounedjah | Egypt | 3 | |
| William Troost-Ekong | Nigeria | 3 | |
| Teboho Mokoena | South Africa | 2 | |
| Yoane Wissa | DR Congo | 2 | |
| Habib Diallo | Senegal | 2 | |
| Lamine Camara | Senegal | 2 | |
| Mohammed Kudus | Ghana | 2 | |
| Ryan Mendes | Cape Verde | 2 | |
| Jordan Ayew | Ghana | 2 | |
| Themba Zwane | South Africa | 2 | |
| Sebastien Haller | Ivory Coast | 2 | |
| Franck Kessie | Ivory Coast | 2 | |
| Oumar Diakité | Ivory Coast | 1 | |
| Arthur Masuaku | DR Congo | 1 | |
| Chancel Mbemba | DR Congo | 1 | |
| Evidence Makgopa | South Africa | 1 | |
| Teboho Mokoena | South Africa | 1 | |
| Nene Dorgeles | Mali | 1 | |
| Hakim Ziyech | Morocco | 1 | |
| Yali Dellahi | Mauritania | 1 | |
| Victor Osimhen | Nigeria | 1 | |
| Karl Toko Ekambi | Cameroon | 1 | |
| Ablie Jallow | Gambia | 1 | |
| Christopher Wooh | Cameroon | 1 | |
| Ebrima Colley | Gambia | 1 | |
| Iliman Ndiaye | Senegal | 1 | |
| Abdoulaye Seck | Senegal | 1 | |
| Percy Tau | South Africa | 1 | |
| Geny Catamo | Mozambique | 1 | |
| Trezeguet | Egypt | 1 | |
| Reinildo Mandava | Mozambique | 1 | |
| Benchimol | Cape Verde | 1 | |
| Pablo Ganet | Equatorial Guinea | 1 | |
| Bryan Teixeira | Cape Verde | 1 | |
| Jannick Buyla | Equatorial Guinea | 1 | |
| Iban Salvador | Equatorial Guinea | 1 | |
| Patson Daka | Zambia | 1 | |
| Simon Msuva | Tanzania | 1 | |
| Thapelo Maseko | South Africa | 1 | |
| Achraf Hakimi | Morocco | 1 | |
| Silas | DR Congo | 1 | |
| Seko Fofana | Ivory Coast | 1 | |
| Jean-Philippe Krasso | Ivory Coast | 1 | |
| Mohamed Salah | Egypt | 1 | |
| Clesio Bauque | Mozambique | 1 | |
| Omar Marmoush | Egypt | 1 | |
| Witiness Quembo | Mozambique | 1 | |
| Alexander Djiku | Ghana | 1 | |
| Jamiro Monteiro | Cape Verde | 1 | |
| Garry Rodrigues | Cape Verde | 1 | |
| Pape Gueye | Senegal | 1 | |
| Meschack Elia | DR Congo | 1 | |
| Frank Magri | Cameroon | 1 | |
| Mohamed Konate | Burkina Faso | 1 | |
| Zini | Angola | 1 | |
| Deon Hotto | Namibia | 1 | |
| Hamari Traore | Mali | 1 | |
| Gilberto | Angola | 1 | |
| Roman Saïss | Morocco | 1 | |
| Azzedine Ounahi | Morocco | 1 | |
| Youssef En-Nesyri | Morocco | 1 | |
| Kings Kangwa | Zambia | 1 | |
| Josete Miranda | Equatorial Guinea | 1 | |
| Ze Turbo | Guinea-Bissau | 1 | |
| Bebe | Cape Verde | 1 | |
| Kevin Lenini | Cape Verde | 1 | |
| Sadio Mane | Senegal | 1 | |
| Ismaila Sarr | Senegal | 1 | |
| Simon Adingra | Ivory Coast | 1 | |
| Jean-Charles Castelletto | Cameroon | 1 | |
| Aguibou Camara | Guinea | 1 | |
| Aboubakary Koita | Mauritania | 1 | |
| Sidi Bouna Amar | Mauritania | 1 | |
| Hamza Rafia | Tunisia | 1 | |
Note: It's important to point out that if two or more players finish level on goals at the top of the standings, the Golden Boot goes to the player with the most assists.
Africa Cup of Nations all-time top goal scorers
Cameroonian legend Samuel Eto'o is the all-time top scorer in Africa Cup of Nations history with 18 goals.
The former Barcelona, Inter and Chelsea forward scored in all six of his AFCON tournament appearances, including 5 goals in both the 2006 and 2008 editions of the tournament.
Legendary strikers Laurent Pokou of Ivory Coast and Rashidi Yekini of Nigeria netted 14 and 13 goals respectively in the tournament to rank second and third in the all-time list.
Below is the table of the all-time AFCON goal scorers, their nationality, and number of goals scored.
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AFCON all-time Scorers table |
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| Player | Country | Goals | |
| Samuel Eto'o | Cameroon | 18 | |
| Laurent Pokou | Ivory Coast | 14 | |
| Rashidi Yekini | Nigeria | 13 | |
| Hassan El-Shazly | Egypt | 12 | |
| Patrick Mboma | Cameroon | 11 | |
| Hossam Hassan | Egypt | 11 | |
| Didier Drogba | Ivory Coast | 11 | |
| Ndaye Mulamba | DR Congo | 10 | |
| Francileudo Santos | Tunisia | 10 | |
| Joel Tiehi | Ivory Coast | 10 | |
Africa Cup of Nations past Golden Boot winners
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Past AFCON Golden Boot Winners |
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| Year | Winner | Goals | Nationality |
| 1957 | Ad El Diba | 5 | Egypt |
| 1959 | Mahmoud Al Gohari | 3 | Egypt |
| 1962 | Mohamed Al Badawi and Worku Mengistu | 3 | Egypt and Ethiopia |
| 1963 | Ahmed Al Chazli | 6 | Egypt |
| 1965 | Abbrey Osei Kofi & Eustace Mangli | 3 | Ghana & Ivory Coast |
| 1968 | Laurent Pokou | 6 | Ivory Coast |
| 1970 | Laurent Pokou | 8 | Ivory Coast |
| 1972 | Salif Keita | 5 | Mali |
| 1974 | Mulamba Ndaye | 9 | Zambia |
| 1976 | William Njo Lea | 4 | Guinea |
| 1978 | Phillip Omondi | 4 | Uganda |
| 1980 | Segun Odegbami | 3 | Nigeria |
| 1982 | George Al Hassan | 4 | Ghana |
| 1984 | Taher Abou Zeid | 4 | Egypt |
| 1986 | Roger Milla & Abdoulaye Traore | 4 | Cameroon & Ivory Coast |
| 1988 | Lakhdar Belloumi, Roger Milla, Gamal Abdelhamid & Abdoulaye Traore | 4 | Algeria, Cameroon, Egypt & Ivory Coast |
| 1990 | Djamel Menad | 4 | Algeria |
| 1992 | Rashidi Yekini | 4 | Nigeria |
| 1994 | Rashidi Yekini | 5 | Nigeria |
| 1996 | Kalusha Bwalya | 5 | Zambia |
| 1998 | Hossam Hassan & Benni McCarthy | 7 | Egypt & South Africa |
| 2000 | Shaun Bartlett | 5 | South Africa |
| 2002 | Patrick Mboma, Salomon Olembe & Julius Aghahowa | 3 | Cameroon & Nigeria |
| 2004 | Patrick Mboma, Frederic Kanoute, Austin Okocha, Youssef Mokhtari & Francileudo dos Santos | 4 | Cameroon, Mali, Nigeria, Morocco & Tunisia |
| 2006 | Samuel Eto’o, Ahmed Hassan & Francileudo dos Santos | 4 | Cameroon, Egypt & Tunisia |
| 2008 | Samuel Eto’o | 5 | Cameroon |
| 2010 | Mohamed Nagui | 5 | Egypt |
| 2012 | Manucho, Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang, Didier Drogba, Cheick Tidiane Diabate, Houcine Kharja, Chris Katongo & Emmanuel Mayuka | 3 | Angola, Gabon, Ivory Coast, Mali, Morocco & Zambia |
| 2013 | Emmanuel Emenike & Mubarak Wakaso | 4 | Nigeria & Ghana |
| 2015 | Ahmed Akaichi, Andre Ayew, Dieumerci Mbokani, Javier Balboa, Thievy Biffouma | 3 | Tunisia, Ghana, DR Congo, Equatorial Guinea & Congo |
| 2017 | Junior Kabananga | 3 | DR Congo |
| 2019 | Odion Ighalo | 5 | Nigeria |
| 2021 | Vincent Aboubakar | 8 | Cameroon |
| 2023 | Emilio Nsue | 5 | Equatorial Guinea |
This article was most recently revised and updated 2 years ago
