Who Are The Record-Holders At AFCON (Ranked - list of major tournament records)

Who Are The Record-Holders At AFCON (Ranked - list of major tournament records)

As we going into the first round of AFCON we see loads of players and team eyeing up the trophy and a chance to add another or a first trophy to their cabinet. However, we also see players looking to break records as well as teams. So, what are some of the records that won’t be broken anytime soon?

10 – Egypt Keeping 4 Clean Sheets

The saying goes attack wins you game, but defence wins you titles, and this seems to have worked for Egypt. In 2010 Egypt went into AFCON looking to add another title to their collection and they managed this, in a very impressive manner. In the group they won all 3 games they played and only conceded a single goal, before meeting Cameroon in the quarter finals where they conceded their last goal of the tournament. They managed to win AFCON while only seeing them conceding 2 goals in the 6 matches they played and won all of them. This record will definitely go down in history.

9 – Most Appearances in AFCON’s

Taking part in a lot of AFCONS is something many players would be honoured to do; however, this player took it to a different level as he took part in 8 consecutive AFCON’s collecting over 3000 minutes of football in those tournaments. This is something that would be very difficult for any player to beat as they would need a long enough career along with them staying at a good enough level, that’s why Rigobert Song’s record will be held for a long time.

8 – Biggest Win in AFCON

One of the best ways to tell how good a team is, is by seeing how many they are able to score in games and this team showed how good they were when they set the record for the biggest win in history and has stood for over 50 years. In 1970 the Ivory Coast played a game against Ethiopia where they would win 6-1, a record that would still stand to this day. While this could be broken, the fact it has stood for 50+ years makes it seem that more impossible to beat. I’m sure fans are still annoyed that they didn’t keep the clean sheet though.

7 – Most Goals in a Game During AFCON

We just spoke about the largest win in the history of AFCON where the Ivary Coast won 6-1, however, this wouldn’t have been possible without a single player. Laurent Pokou who is the second all-time top scorer in AFCON history was the man who they saw play his best game ever. In a game that his nation scored 6 goals, he managed to bag them 5 of those 6 goals. This record is next to impossible to beat as they would almost need to break 2 records in order to beat this one. This will stand for a very long time.

6 – Youngest Player to Have Ever Scored at an AFCON

This is one to make everyone feel old. In 2000 we see Gabon lineup and play South Africa where they would end up losing 3-1. However, they will take the victory that they scored and that the person who scored wasn’t even an adult and had just turned 16 3 months prior. Shiva N’Zigou currently holds the record for the youngest ever goal scorer at 16 years and 93 days old. This record is incredibly hard to break as you would need to be an outstanding youngster to even be selected for your nation let alone to get the chance to play and score.

5 – Most AFCON Finals Reached

The most successful team in AFCON history Egypt has reached the record most finals in its history. They have managed to reach 10 out of the 34 possible finals. Just under 30% of possible finals that there has been. They have definitely become the team to beat if you want to prove yourself as a favourite. However, it seems that to have a chance of even beating them is in the finals. This record will take a long time to beat and a belief that Egypt won’t reach them while other nations do.

4 – Top Scorer in AFCON History

Sadly, the top scorer in history is no longer someone not everyone will know like it was. As said earlier Pokou used to be the top scorer until one of the greatest forwards to have ever played football took over. The current all-time top scorer is Samuel Eto with 18 goals, something that will be very challenging to beat as you will have to play a lot of tournaments and reach a good way through to have a chance of beating this record. Given Pokou’s record stood for around 30 to 40 years, it only makes sense that Eto’s will stand for longer.

AFCON all-time leading scorers:

🇨🇲 𝗦𝗮𝗺𝘂𝗲𝗹 𝗘𝘁𝗼’𝗼 (𝟭𝟴)
🇨🇮 Laurent Pokou (14)
🇳🇬 Rashidi Yekini (13)
🇪🇬 Hassan El-Shazly (12)
🇨🇮 Didier Drogba (11)
🇪🇬 Hossam Hassan (11)
🇨🇲 Patrick Mboma (11)

👑 pic.twitter.com/dWbPD3r5VU

— B/R Football (@brfootball) January 15, 2024

3 – Most AFCON Appearances

Egypt, again. The best nation in the history of AFCON has made the most appearances, however, even they haven’t been able to keep above a 75% appearance rate. They have taken part in 26 tournaments across their history and having made 10 finals means they have a 40% final rate, that makes this record, and the most finals record even more incredible. Egypt are definitely the kings of AFCON, and this will be proven by the next 2 records.

2 – Longest Unbeaten Run

Egypt with 24 matches. This is insane as this would take up around 3 tournaments with them having to have won 2 of them. From the period of 2006-2010 they didn’t lose an AFCON match and saw 24 matches unbeaten. When I said they would’ve had to won at least 2 of them, they went above and beyond that as they won all 3. Not losing a single game and winning 3 tournaments, that’s domination on a different scale, it’s not just an impressive AFCON record but an impressive record in football in general.

1 – Most AFCON Titles

As everyone expected Egypt takes this one as well. 7 titles won out of 10 finals made, a 70%-win rate. They well and truly are the best nation in AFCON history. This record will be very hard to beat with Cameroon being the closest to them with 5 titles, this gap will still be very hard to beat. Egypt are truly the team that you need to beat if you want to prove yourself at AFCON.