The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations is just around the corner.
Twenty-four nations travel to Morocco this winter with the hopes of being crowned the kings of Africa — and taking Ivory Coast’s title from them.
Over the years Afcon has played host to a number of iconic teams and legendary players. Which has us taking a walk through memory lane to find the best of the best,
Read on for all the important records and statistics from the Africa Cup of Nations.
Most wins
Egypt are the most successful team in Africa Cup of Nations history, claiming the title seven times. That puts them two wins ahead of second-placed Cameroon (five). Ghana complete the top three, having with Afcon four times.
Unsurprisingly, Egypt also hold the record for the most wins total, claiming 60 victories from 111 games. Nigeria (57) and Ghana (54) are the only other nations to have won 50+ Afcon matches.
Biggest win
Three games in Afcon history have been won by five-goal margins, and Ivory Coast have been responsible for two of them. They first beat Ethiopia 6-1 in the group stage of the 1970 Africa Cup of Nations.
It was a 38-year wait for their 5-0 knockout stage win over Guinea in 2008, which included goals from Didier Drogba and Salomon Kalou. Four years later, Guinea were on the right side of a five-goal win, beating Botswana 6-1 in 2012.
Egypt hold the record for the biggest win in a final, behing Ethiopia 4-0 to win the first Africa Cup of Nations in 1957.
Most goals by a single team
Given their domination of the previous records, it’ll be no surprise to find Egypt top of the tree for goals scored. The Pharaohs have scored 175 goals at Afcon, at least 23 more than any other nation.
It will also be no surprise that Egypt have scored the most goals at a single tournament too. They scored 15 at both the 2008 and 2010 Africa Cup of Nations, en route to winning the trophy in both years. Egypt aren’t alone, however. Zambia also scored 15 goals at Afcon in 1996 as they finished third overall.
Most goals by a single player
Cameroon legend Samuel Eto’o holds the record for the most goals in Africa Cup of Nations tournaments, netting 18 goals. Those came across six tournaments, with only Hossam Hassan (seven) scoring in more Afcons. Eto’o’s best tournaments came in 2006 and 2006, with the striker netting five goals in each.
But it’s Ndaye Mulamba who holds the record for the most goals scored in a single Afcon. He scored nine goals at Afcon in 1974 for Zaire — now known as the Democratic Republic of the Congo. They helped Zaire win the tournament against Zambia in the final, with Mulamba having the benefit of the final needing a replay. He scored four goals in the final, two in the initial match and another two in the replay.
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Tournament with the most goals
The past three Africa Cup of Nations have seen over 100 goals scored, the first three to see so many goals. The most recent was the best to date, with 119 goals across 52 matches, at a rate of 2.29 per game. But the 1962 Africa Cup of Nations has the best goals per match total, at 4.5 — with 18 across just four games.
Most hat-tricks
Hassan El-Shazly is the only player to score more than one hat-trick at the Africa Cup of Nations. He scored his first for Egypt (then known as the United Arab Republic) in a 6-3 win over Nigeria in 1963. His second came seven years later, scoring all three goals in a 3-1 win over Ivory Coast in 1970.
Most appearances
This is a record that is more than likely to change in 2025. Rigobert Song and Andre Ayew have both made 36 appearances at Afcon tournaments, more than any other player. The two are also among the four to have appeared at eight different tournaments, alongside Ahmed Hassan and Youssef Msakni.
But Ayew is set to make history. The veteran, who will be 36 by the time Afcon kicks off, is expected to be in Ghana’s squad for the 2025 tournament. That’d make him outright leader for nine Afcon appearances, and one game will see him take the match record too.
Oldest player
Essam El Hadary holds the record for the oldest player to play a game at the Africa Cup of Nations. He was the starting goalkeeper for Egypt as they made it all the way to the final in 2017, losing out to Cameroon. El Hadary was 44 years and 21 days at the time of the final.