Who Are the 3 Best Scorers in CAN?
O African Cup of Nations 2023 (CAN 2023), which starts on January 13, 2024. But before the kick-off of the championship to be held in Côte d'Ivoire, Mais Afrika offers the story of 3 players who left their mark in the main competition African football.
We are talking about three forwards who are, to date, the greatest scorers in CAN history: Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Laurent Pokou (Ivory Coast) and Rachidi Yekini (Nigeria).
Samuel Eto’o, the Master (18)
Wherever there was a green rectangle and the ball was round, Samuel Eto’o wrote his legend. At CAN, the former number 9 of the Indomitable Lions also tormented defenses and scored goals. He is, in fact, the greatest scorer in the history of CAN.
The current president of FECAFOOT accumulates 18 goals in CAN. All in six editions, played under the Cameroonian shirt (2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008 and 2010). To date, in addition to being CAN's top scorer of all time, he is also the top scorer in Cameroon's history (56 goals in 118 matches).
Furthermore, Samuel Eto’o was CAN’s top scorer twice (2006-2008, 5 goals), with also two titles in 2000 and 2002. In fact, the media dubbed him the King of CAN.
Laurent Pokou, An Ivory Legend (14)
Laurent Pokou is the great legend of Ivorian and African football. Before Samuel Eto’o, the title of CAN’s top scorer was his for 38 years (from 1970 to 2008). The Ivorian has 14 goals in the CAN. He scored between 1968 (6 goals) and 1970 (8 goals), where he scored best.
Furthermore, Pokou achieved the feat of scoring 5 times against Ethiopia during Côte d'Ivoire's 6-1 victory in the 1970 edition. Since then, no one has done the same in a CAN finals match. Prodigious.
In his honor and remembering one of the best players of all time in the championship, the CAN 2023 ball was named “POKOU".
Rachidi Yekini the Royal Eagle (13)
Nigeria did not wait for Victor Osimhen and other players to have an extraordinary striker in their ranks. Already in the 1990s, a certain Rachidi Yekini was responsible for traumatizing African defenses.
It was no surprise that he was CAN's top scorer in 1992 (4 goals) and 1994 (5 goals). In total, he scored 13 goals in the main competition of African football, which makes him the most prolific Nigerian, guaranteeing him the position of the third best scorer in the CAN.
Rachidi Yekini led his team to coronation in 1994, but also lost three finals (1984, 1988 and 1990). With 37 goals in 62 matches, he is the highest scorer in the history of the Super Eagles and is known as the “Royal Eagle”.
CAN 2023
Among the active players, André Ayew (Ghana, 10 goals), Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon, 9 goals), Sadio Mané (Senegal, 8 goals), can aspire to become legends during CAN 2023 in Côte d'Ivoire.
Conclusion
The trajectory of Samuel Eto'o, Laurent Pokou and Rachidi Yekini in CAN transcends numbers and records, becoming epics that echo in the history of CAN, but while these legends say goodbye, the legacy remains, preparing the ground for new heroes of CAN 2023 , where we eagerly await the expectation of crowning new heroes, perpetuating the unbreakable spirit of African football.
Did you know the stories of these 3 great CAN scorers? We want to know your opinion, do not hesitate to comment and if you liked the article, share and give a “like/like”.
See also:
CAN 2023: What Are the Surprise Selections?
CAN 2023: Cape Verde Summons 5 Players In Portugal
CAN 2023: 5 PALOP Countries Qualified
CAN 2023: PALOP with strong opponents
Picture: © DR
