The 2022 Africa Cup of Nations is into the semifinals, and with just three matches remaining, one name still stands out above the rest on the goalscoring chart.
Captain Vincent Aboubakar of host nation Cameroon is on a tear to start the tournament, scoring six goals in total, including at least one in each of his country's first four matches to put himself atop the list of players. But Aboubakar's Cameroon teammate, Karl Toko Ekambi of Lyon, is behind him on five goals after scoring twice against The Gambia in the quarterfinals.
There are a group of players on three goals, but Senegal's Sadio Mane is the only still in action. There is a group of eight chasing players on two goals, with just one of them still in action: Egypt's Mohamed Salah. Man City attacker Riyad Mahrez didn't score a single goal (he actually missed a penalty) as Algeria was eliminated in the group stage.
MORE: Round of 16 match schedule
6 - Vincent Aboubakar has scored six goals in Africa Cup of Nations 2021, highest tally for a player in a single competition since Benni McCarthy (South Africa) and Hossem Hassan (Egypt) in 1998 (7 goals each). Unstoppable. #CAMCOR #TeamCameroon pic.twitter.com/El1iQFlFeb
— OptaJean (@OptaJean) January 24, 2022
AFCON 2022 Top Scorers
Below is the AFCON 2022 top scorer rankings featuring the 67 goal scorers in the tournament who have contributed 92 of the 94 total goals seen thus far (two of the 94 were own goals by Morocco's Nayef Aguerd and Burkina Faso's Adama Guira). There have also been a total of 10 penalty kicks scored.
As in the case with other international tournaments, players with the same number of total goals scored are ranked below by total assists and then by fewest minutes played. When assists and minutes played are even, the names are arranged in alphabetical order.
MORE: AFCON 2022 group standings
| Rank | Player | Country | Goals (PKs) | Assists | Matches | Mins |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1. | Vincent Aboubakar | Cameroon | 6 (2) | 1 | 5 | 424 |
| 2. | Karl Toko Ekambi | Cameroon | 5 (0) | 0 | 5 | 367 |
| 3. | Sadio Mane | Senegal | 3 (1) | 2 | 6 | 520 |
| Gabadinho Mhango | Malawi | 3 (0) | 0 | 3 | 270 | |
| Ibrahima Kone | Mali | 3 (3) | 0 | 4 | 322 | |
| Sofiane Boufal | Morocco | 3 (1) | 0 | 5 | 345 | |
| 7. | Musa Barrow | Gambia | 2 (1) | 2 | 5 | 450 |
| Wahbi Khazri | Tunisia | 2 (0) | 1 | 4 | 264 | |
| Nicolas Pepe | Ivory Coast | 2 (0) | 1 | 4 | 314 | |
| Mohamed Salah | Egypt | 2 (0) | 1 | 5 | 510 | |
| Ahmed Mogni | Comoros | 2 (0) | 0 | 4 | 156 | |
| Jim Allevinah | Gabon | 2 (0) | 0 | 4 | 242 | |
| Ablie Jallow | Gambia | 2 (0) | 0 | 4 | 256 | |
| Achraf Hakimi | Morocco | 2 (0) | 0 | 5 | 480 | |
| 15. | Selim Amallah | Morocco | 1 (0) | 2 | 5 | 415 |
| Ismaila Sarr | Senegal | 1 (0) | 1 | 2 | 57 | |
| Dango Ouattara | Burkina Faso | 1 (0) | 1 | 3 | 198 | |
| Famara Diedhiou | Senegal | 1 (0) | 1 | 4 | 238 | |
| Kelechi Iheanacho | Nigeria | 1 (0) | 1 | 4 | 289 | |
| Moses Simon | Nigeria | 1 (0) | 1 | 4 | 333 | |
| Bertrand Traore | Burkina Faso | 1 (0) | 1 | 4 | 347 | |
| Sebastien Haller | Ivory Coast | 1 (0) | 1 | 4 | 349 | |
| Ibrahim Sangare | Ivory Coast | 1 (0) | 1 | 4 | 352 | |
| El Fardou Ben | Comoros | 1 (0) | 1 | 4 | 360 | |
| Pablo Ganet | Eq. Guinea | 1 (0) | 1 | 5 | 462 | |
| Blati Toure | Burkina Faso | 1 (0) | 1 | 6 | 564 | |
| Richmond Boakye | Ghana | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 | 31 | |
| Kudakwashe Mahachi | Zimbabwe | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 | 94 | |
| Umar Sadiq | Nigeria | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 98 | |
| Alhaji Kamara | Sierra Leone | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 128 | |
| Zakaria Aboukhlal | Morocco | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 133 | |
| Dawa Hotessa | Ethiopia | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 | 134 | |
| Ahmadou Bamba Dieng | Senegal | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 153 | |
| Getaneh Kebede | Ethiopia | 1 (1) | 0 | 3 | 158 | |
| Ishmael Wadi | Zimbabwe | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 | 174 | |
| Musa Kamara | Sierra Leone | 1 (0) | 0 | 2 | 180 | |
| Sofiane Bendebka | Algeria | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 188 | |
| Julio Tavares | Cape Verde | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 191 | |
| Samuel Chukwueze | Nigeria | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 192 | |
| Andre Ayew | Ghana | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 205 | |
| Knowledge Musona | Zimbabwe | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 212 | |
| Taiwo Awoniyi | Nigeria | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 214 | |
| Youssef Msakni | Tunisia | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 219 | |
| Max Gradel | Ivory Coast | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 232 | |
| Hamza Mathlouthi | Tunisia | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 237 | |
| Trezeguet | Egypt | 1 (0) | 0 | 5 | 238 | |
| Garry Rodrigues | Cape Verde | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 263 | |
| Issiaga Sylla | Guinea | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 268 | |
| Alexander Djiku | Ghana | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 270 | |
| Naby Keita | Guinea | 1 (0) | 0 | 3 | 270 | |
| Walieldin Khidir | Sudan | 1 (1) | 0 | 3 | 270 | |
| Franck Kessie | Ivory Coast | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 273 | |
| Youssef En-Nesyri | Morocco | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 289 | |
| Hassane Bande | Burkina Faso | 1 (0) | 0 | 5 | 324 | |
| Jannik Buyla | Equatorial Guinea | 1 (0) | 0 | 5 | 329 | |
| Seifeddine Jaziri | Tunisia | 1 (0) | 0 | 5 | 331 | |
| Cheikhou Kouyate | Senegal | 1 (0) | 0 | 5 | 360 | |
| Youssouf M'Changama | Comoros | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 360 | |
| William Troost-Ekong | Nigeria | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 360 | |
| Cyrille Bayala | Burkina Faso | 1 (0) | 0 | 5 | 362 | |
| Aaron Boupendza | Gabon | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 379 | |
| Massadio Haidara | Mali | 1 (0) | 0 | 4 | 390 | |
| Idrissa Gueye | Senegal | 1 (0) | 0 | 5 | 450 | |
| Mohamed Abdelmonem | Egypt | 1 (0) | 0 | 5 | 453 | |
| Esteban Orozco | Eq. Guinea | 1 (0) | 0 | 5 | 480 | |
| Gustavo Sangare | Burkina Faso | 1 (0) | 0 | 6 | 484 | |
| Abdou Diallo | Senegal | 1 (0) | 0 | 6 | 540 |
Vincent Aboubaker has now scored six goals at #AFCON2021 - if he can get four more then he’ll become the highest scoring player at an AFCON ever.
— Joe Crann (@YesWeCrann) January 24, 2022
The current record is nine, from Zaire’s Ndaye Mulamba back in 1974. pic.twitter.com/A5MhCM2jY4
Africa Cup of Nations Top Scorers since 2000
This year's current top scorer, Vincent Aboubakar, would already be the top scorer in each of the last 11 AFCON tournaments with his six goals in four matches. He'll be back in action on Saturday in the quarterfinals as he seeks to add to his total.
Cameroonian Vincent Aboubakar is the first player to score 6+ goals in the Africa Cup of Nations in the 21st century. Leading by example. #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/zcHwL31A5o
— #AFCON2021 (@EricNjiiru) January 24, 2022
MORE: AFCON 2022 matches & highlights today
| Year | Player | Country | Goals |
|---|---|---|---|
| 2019 | Odion Ighalo | Nigeria | 5 |
| 2017 | Junior Kabanagna | DR Congo | 3 |
| 2015 | Ahmed Akaichi | Tunisia | 3 |
| Andre Ayew | Ghana | 3 | |
| Javier Balboa | Equatorial Guinea | 3 | |
| Thievy Bifouma | Congo | 3 | |
| Dieumerci Mbokani | DR Congo | 3 | |
| 2013 | Emmanuel Emineke | Nigeria | 4 |
| Mubarek Wakaso | Ghana | 4 | |
| 2012 | Manucho | Angola | 3 |
| Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang | Gabon | 3 | |
| Didier Drogba | Ivory Coast | 3 | |
| Cheick Diabate | Mali | 3 | |
| Houssine Kharja | Morocco | 3 | |
| Christopher Katongo | Zambia | 3 | |
| Emmanuel Mayuka | Zambia | 3 | |
| 2010 | Gedo | Egypt | 5 |
| 2008 | Samuel Eto'o | Cameroon | 5 |
| 2006 | Samuel Eto'o | Cameroon | 5 |
| 2004 | Frederic Kanoute | Mali | 4 |
| Patrick Mboma | Cameroon | 4 | |
| Jay-Jay Okocha | Nigeria | 4 | |
| Francileudo Santos | Tunisia | 4 | |
| 2002 | Julius Aghahowa | Nigeria | 3 |
| Patrick Mboma | Cameroon | 3 | |
| Salomon Olembé | Cameroon | 3 | |
| 2000 | Shaun Bartlett | South Africa | 5 |
