As the 2023 AFCON tournament kicks off next week, the Confederation of African Football (CAF) has released a list of teams that have crossed the 100-goal threshold at the Africa Cup of Nations, also known as the CAN, to etch their names into the annals of the continental championship.
In the past 33 editions, only 5 African national teams have successfully crossed the 100-goal mark, while several others are in close pursuit of this achievement.
Leading the Charge
The Egyptian national team holds the record for the most goals scored in the history of the AFCON with an impressive record of 168 goals in 25 editions of the tournament.
The following is a breakdown of the teams that have surpassed the 100-goal mark during their AFCON participation:
Country | Goals | Matches played | Number of AFCON editions |
1. Egypt | 168 goals | 107 matches | 25 editions |
2. Côte d'Ivoire | 144 goals | 99 matches | 24 editions |
3. Nigeria | 137 goals | 97 matches | 19 editions |
4. Cameroon | 137 goals | 91 matches | 20 editions |
5. Ghana | 133 goals | 102 matches | 23 editions |
Additionally, the national team of Tunisia is on the cup of reaching the 100-goal mark in the history of its AFCON participation, having scored 99 goals in 20 previous editions.
Similarly, Algeria is in pursuit of 6 more goals after having scored 94 in 19 AFCON editions.
The Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) is also primed to achieve this feat, having scored 88 goals in their 19 appearances at the continental championship.
The 2023 AFCON tournament, also known as the CAN, was originally scheduled for June-July 2023, but was postponed due to concerns about the rainy season. The defending champions are Senegal, who won their first title in 2023. The 24 qualified teams are Algeria, Burkina Faso, Cameroon, Cape Verde, Comoros, Congo, DR Congo, Egypt, Equatorial Guinea, Ethiopia, Gabon, Gambia, Ghana, Guinea, Guinea-Bissau, Ivory Coast, Mali, Mauritania, Morocco, Mozambique, Nigeria, Senegal, Tunisia, Zambia.