Sports

January 26, 2022

AFCON 2021: Aboubakar in pole position for Golden Boot award

AFCON 2021: Aboubakar in pole position for Golden Boot award

In 2019, Odion Ighalo won the AFCON Golden Boot with a tally of five goals.

Before the commencement of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, when people thought of strikers expected to make a lot of difference in the tournament and probable candidates for the Golden Boot award, all eyes were on the likes of Mo Salah, Riyad Mahrez, Sadio Mane and Sebastian Haller.

However, since the tournament began, the striker who has been deadliest in front of goal has been Cameroon star, Vincent Aboubakar. Al Nassr FC’s Vincent Abubakar. He has netted 6 goals from four matches making him one of the most prolific strikers in Afcon history.

If he continues this way, Abubakar will surely join his compatriot and current Cameroon FA President Samuel Eto’o Fils who is the all time leading scorer with 18 AFCON goals.

Abubakar who is a native of Garoua is in a class of his own and favourite for this year’s Golden Boot winner as the nearest to him is compatriot Karl Toko Ekambi with 3 goals who is tied with Mali’s Ibrahim Kone whose three goals have come from the spot.

They are chased by a group of about eight including Egypt’s Mo Sala, Sadio Mane of Senegal and Riyad Mahrez who have all scored one goal each.

Players who have scored 10 or more goals at the Africa Cup of Nations:

Samuel Eto’o Fils Cameroon 18

Lorent Pokou Ivory Coast 14

Rasheed Yekini Nigeria 13

Hassan El-Shazly Egypt 12

Patrick Mboma Cameroon 11

Hossam Hassan Egypt 11

Didier Drogba Ivory Coast 11

Ndaye Mulamba DRC 10

Joel Tiehi Ivory Coast 10

Mengistu Worku Ethiopia 10

Dos Santos Tunisia 10

Kalusha Bwalya Zambia 10