African Cup Of Nations records: Top scorer, most wins, most appearances & more
The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) is set to run from December 21 to January 18, 2026, and will be the first to be played during the festive period.
That milestone was forced by FIFA’s expanded Club World Cup tournament and the rebranded UEFA Champions League format.
But that hasn’t damped the anticipation of the showpiece event, which is set to take place in Morocco for only the second time in the history of the competition.
The previous edition of AFCON produced plenty of memorable moments, with Cote d’Ivoire ending their eight-year wait for the continental holy grail.
The Elephants will look to become the first nation to successfully defend the crown since Egypt’s three-peat between 2006 and 2010.
While fans are anticipating another month of nail-biting experiences, we’ve peered into the history books to unearth some astonishing records that shaped AFCON into one of the most competitive continental tournaments in the world.
Top scorer
AFCON history is filled with unforgettable heroes, but only a select few reached legendary status, and Samuel Eto’o is undoubtedly one of them.
The Cameroonian icon is the all-time leading top scorer in AFCON history, bagging 18 goals during an international career that spanned 17 years.
The former Barcelona and Chelsea striker featured in 29 games across six AFCON tournaments.
Eto’o lifted the AFCON title twice in 2000 and 2002, winning the Golden Boot in 2006 and 2008. He also scored five goals in 10 AFCON qualifiers.
Most AFCON appearances by a nation
Egypt has made the most appearances in AFCON history, leading the pack with 26 appearances.
The Pharaohs are a testament to the quality of African football. They featured in the first-ever AFCON tournament in 1957 and won it.
They’ve had plenty of success over the years and go into every tournament as favourites.
With Liverpool star and Premier League icon Mohamed Salah leading the line for Egypt, AFCON 2025 should be no different.
Most AFCON appearances by a player
Former Cameroon, Egypt, Ghana, and Tunisia internationals, Rigobert Song, Ahmed Hassan, Andre Ayew, and Youssef Msakni have participated in a record eight AFCON tournaments.
Ayew and Msakni joined the exclusive list after featuring in the most recent edition in Ivory Coast in 2023, matching a record that had stood for 13 years.
Despite being regulars, Ayew and Msakni have yet to be crowned champions with Ghana and Tunisia.
Ayew has won 120 caps with the Ghanaian national team and has come close to clinching the holy grail twice. He was on the losing end in both the 2010 and 2015 finals against Egypt and Ivory Coast.
Meanwhile, Msakni’s best performance for Tunisia is finishing fourth in 2019.
Most matches played by a player
Song and Ayew have also made the joint-most appearances in AFCON history with 36 each.
Both players have featured in eight tournaments. Song appeared in every tournament from 1996 to 2010, while Ayew has missed just one competition since his debut in 2008.
Song won AFCON twice in 2000 and 2002 and featured in 35 consecutive games until 2010.
Ayew would have toppled Song’s record number of appearances, but he chose to sit out the 2013 edition in South Africa.
Most wins
Egypt are the most successful nation in AFCON history, winning the competition seven times.
They’ve won it twice as the hosts and are the only team in AFCON history to win the tournament three consecutive times between 2006 and 2010.
They won the inaugural tournament in 1957 and cemented their legacy as continental juggernauts when they lifted the title in Angola in 2010.
Cameroon are the next best team in Africa with five AFCON titles in their cabinet.
Most appearances in a final
Unsurprisingly, Egypt have also made the most appearances in an AFCON final, competing for the continental holy grail 10 times.
Their 70% win rate cements their legacy as the best team on the continent. However, they haven’t won the title since completing the three-peat in 2010.
However, they have finished as runners-up in two of the last four editions.
Most successive appearances in the AFCON finals
Tunisia holds the record for the most successive appearances at the AFCON finals. The Eagles of Carthage have featured in every AFCON tournament since making their debut in 1994.
Despite being AFCON regulars, Tunisia have been crowned champions just once. That was in 2004, when they beat Morocco 2-1 to win the title as tournament hosts.
Title winner as player and coach
Only two managers in the history of AFCON have won the tournament both as a player and as a manager – Mahmoud El-Gohary and Stephen Keshi.
El-Gohary won the title as a player with Egypt in 1959 and repeated the trick from the dugout in 1998.
His title win as a manager came four years after Keshi’s 1994 success with Nigeria.
While it took El-Gohary nearly four decades before leading Egypt to the crown, Keshi achieved that feat within 19 years of his success as a player, steering Nigeria to the title in 2013.
Read Next:
Latest AFCON News
Africa Cup Of Nations – Fixtures & Results
AFCON Winners & History
Africa Cup Of Nations 2025 – Preview & Live Streaming
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