Drogba played five Africa Cup of Nations
#6 Didier Drogba
Ivory Coast - 11 goals
The Elephants talisman participated at five Africa Cup of Nations finals between 2006 and 2013, scoring important goals along the way.
While the West African nation didn’t win the showpiece with their Golden Generation, Drogba ended joint-top scorer in 2012 alongside six other players including Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang.
He may have retired from international duty without winning the title, and missed what could’ve been a decisive penalty in 2012’s defeat by Zambia, but the Chelsea legend’s record is commendable.
#5 Patrick M’Boma
Cameroon - 11 goals
The former Indomitable Lion finished joint-top scorer in 2002 and 2004, with the Central African nation winning the former tournament, which took place in Mali.
M’Boma also won the competition in 2000, as Cameroon’s Golden Generation thrived on the continent.
11 goals is proof that he wasn’t just a bystander in the side and delivered when necessary.
#4 Hossam Hassan
Egypt - 11 goals
The North African nation’s top scorer netted the same number of goals as Drogba and M'Boma but won more Afcon titles as a player.
Egypt’s former attacker won the showpiece on three occasions in 1986, 1998 and 2006, and is the oldest player to score at the finals having netted against DR Congo at 39 years and 174 days.
Hassan netted seven times in 1998, the same as Benni McCarthy, to become the third-highest scoring player at one finals.
Hassan El-Shazly
Egypt - 12 goals
El-Shazly was revered in his day for his lethal shooting, and the attacker netted six of his 12 Afcon strikes in the 1963 tournament in Ghana. Deservedly, he was named player of the competition.
Interestingly, while he won several titles in domestically, El-Shazly never secured the Afcon crown playing for Egypt.
#3 Rashidi Yekini
Nigeria - 13 goals
Nigeria all-time leading scorer overcame several near misses to finally win the Africa Cup of Nations in 1994, ending the Super Eagles’ 14-year wait.
The frontman hit the back of the net five times in that ’94 triumph, and was also named the tournament's most valuable player. He’d similarly scored more than anyone two years earlier in Senegal, netting four times.
Nigeria’s departed icon will live long in the memory of observers of the game at home and abroad.
#2 Laurent Pokou
Ivory Coast - 14 goals
The late icon notably scored five times in one game with the Elephants, demolishing Ethiopia 6-1 in 1970. He finished that tournament with eight strikes, the second-highest tally by one player at a finals.
Pokou netted six times in Ethiopia 1968 as well, and it’s a shame he never guided the West Africans to an Afcon crown despite his prolific nature.
#1 Samuel Eto'o
Cameroon - 18 goals
After many decades, Pokou’s Afcon record was finally broken by Eto'o in 2008.
The ex-Barcelona striker ended the finals with five goals, the same tally he achieved in 2006, and looked to be the likeliest to break the aforementioned record given his longevity at international level.
The four-time African Footballer of the Year won two titles in 2000 and 2002, forming a part of Cameroon's hugely successful Golden Generation.
