Perpetua Nkwocha is the Super Falcons' all-time top scorer, with 80 goals in 99 matches between 1999 and 2015. Asisat Oshoala is second on at least 39. Uchenna Kanu has climbed to third on at least 25 after three goals against Comoros this month.
Nkwocha's claim was settled on one evening in Johannesburg. On 3 October 2004 she scored four times as Nigeria beat Cameroon 5-0 in the African Women's Championship final. CAF still describes her as the only player to have done that in a Women's AFCON final. Twenty-two years on, nobody has matched it.
| At a glance | Details |
|---|---|
| All-time top scorer | Perpetua Nkwocha, 80 goals in 99 caps |
| Second | Asisat Oshoala, at least 39 |
| Third | Uchenna Kanu, at least 25 |
| Fourth | Desire Oparanozie, 22 at her 2023 retirement |
| Most WAFCON goals | Nkwocha, 34 |
| Latest matches counted | Nigeria 2-0 and 5-0 v Comoros, 9 and 13 October 2026 |
The table after Comoros
Record keeping is patchy. The NFF does not publish a running list of Super Falcons scorers. So the figures below combine the long-standing career totals with goals confirmed in match reports since the last published count, and where a tally could not be closed off we write “at least” and give the basis.
| Rank | Player | Goals | Basis of the figure |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Perpetua Nkwocha | 80 | Career total, 99 caps, 1999 to 2015 |
| 2 | Asisat Oshoala | At least 39 | 37 published in May 2025, plus two at WAFCON 2026 |
| 3 | Uchenna Kanu | At least 25 | 22 logged up to 5 August 2026, plus three v Comoros |
| 4 | Desire Oparanozie | 22 | Figure given at her retirement in September 2023 |
One caveat. Voice of Nigeria put Oparanozie on 22 goals in 35 appearances when she quit, though other databases credit her with more.
Nkwocha, still out of sight
Eighty goals. The gap to second place is still about half of that.
Nkwocha played at four Women's World Cups, in 2003, 2007, 2011 and 2015. She also went to the Sydney, Athens and Beijing Olympics. CAF named her African Women's Footballer of the Year four times: 2004, 2005, 2010 and 2011. The continental numbers are stubborn too. She was top scorer in 2004 with nine goals in five matches, according to CAF. In August, Sports247 noted that her 34 WAFCON goals remain the record, along with her 11 at the 2010 edition. Nobody else has passed 30.
Oshoala and Kanu, the active chasers
Afrik-Foot had Asisat Oshoala on 37 international goals when it last updated her record in May 2025. At WAFCON 2026 in Morocco she added two more. The first was the eighth-minute winner against Zambia in Rabat, a 1-0 win played largely with ten players after Tosin Demehin was sent off. The second was a penalty in the 6-2 rout of Egypt on 5 August. That took her to 16 WAFCON goals, second only to Nkwocha. Her full Nigeria total has not been republished since. Hence “at least”.
The tournament had started badly. After the 3-2 defeat by Malawi in the opener, Oshoala told reporters: “The only thing I can say right now is we need their support right now, the World Cup ticket is at stake.”
It was lost. Cameroon won the quarter-final 1-0 in Casablanca on 9 August.
Kanu has been the steadier scorer since. She headed in a stoppage-time goal against Malawi and scored on 57 minutes against Egypt. Then came the Olympic qualifiers in Ikenne: one goal in the 2-0 first leg, alongside Michelle Alozie, and two in the 5-0 second leg, on 58 and 66 minutes.
The most complete public log of her goals runs to 22 by early August, so three more make at least 25.
Morocco are next. Then the real test.
Oparanozie and the next rung
Oparanozie, top scorer at the 2014 African Women's Championship, retired on 13 September 2023 at 29. “It's time to take a bow, as I believe there's no better time than now,” she wrote.
Below her, the older record lists Stella Mbachu on 20 and Cynthia Uwak on 18. Rasheedat Ajibade, the captain, is climbing towards that group, but no verified running total for her has been published by the NFF or the press, and she went off injured in the first half of the second leg against Comoros, on a night ESPN said was soured by the blow to Nigeria's skipper.
Our view
Nkwocha's 80 is safe for a generation.
The fight is over the figures underneath it. A ten-time African champion should not need fans to rebuild its scoring history from match reports and old tables. For where the current squad come from, see our guide to Super Falcons players and their state of origin.
This article was most recently revised and updated 43 seconds ago
