Galatasaray of Turkey striker, Victor James Osimhen could become the next Nigerian striker to emerge top scorer of the Africa Cup of Nations after Segun Odegbami and Rashidi Yekini showed the way, with Odion Jude Ighalo getting it last.
Sports247 reports that Yekini got the award twice (with four goals in 1992 and five in 1994), while Ighalo was highest with five strikes in 2019, before which Odegbami took the award with three goals when Nigeria first won the title in 1980 on home soil.
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Julius Efosa Aghahowa was joint-highest also with three goals in 2002, Austin Okocha was a joint-top scorer with four goals, alongside three other players in 2004, and Emmanuel Emenike did same in helping Nigeria win their third title at AFCON 2013 but had to share it with Ghana’s Mubarak Wakaso.
Another tight race is now on at AFCON 2025, with the award likely to go down to the wire across the last last four games – two semi-finals, a third-place match and the grand finale.
This comes after Osimhen took his AFCON 2025 goals haul to four on Saturday, to set up a terse race for the ongoing competition’s top scorer’s award alongside Morocco’s Brahim Diaz.
Osimhen lived up to expectations on Saturday, as he emerged man of the match, after scoring one and assisted another, to help Nigeria defeat Algeria 2-0 and reach the semi-finals of AFCON 2025.
The Super Eagles’ hitman overcame aftereffects of his on-field blast during their 4-0 trouncing of Mozambique in the round of 16, as he led Nigeria with a 47th minute goal and 57th minute assist for Akor Adams to make it 2-0 in Marrakech, Morocco.
Osimhen’s stunning header took him just two goals behind Yekini’s 37 on the roll call of Nigeria’s all-time top scorers and just one short of Morocco’s Diaz on the log at AFCON 2025, ahead of Wednesday’s semi-final in Rabat.
While Diaz set a new record by scoring in five straight matches at AFCON 2025, Osimhen enjoys the leverage of netting one against Tunisia and two versus Mozambique before his effort on Saturday, which was the first to be conceded by Zinedine Zidane’s son (Luca) in goal for Algeria.
Dramatically, Osimhen will come head-to-head with Real Madrid of Spain attacker, Diaz on Wednesday, as Nigeria, who also now have a record of 14 goals in a single AFCON competition, face the hosts in a decisive last-four tie that promises to be more explosive than any other.
Apart from being a clash between two in-form teams, it could decide the ultimate champions as well as who goes home with the AFCON 2025 top scorer’s prize in the final next Sunday, January 18th.
It would also be an opportunity for Sevilla of Spain attacker, Akor Adams to net his third goal of AFCON 2025 and get due reward for the hard work he has done all through this competition, but his day appeared jinxed versus Algeria.
He will aim to make up for ill-luck that cut him short to just a goal on Saturday, as he missed a sitter, had one saved by the keeper early in the first half and then hit the upright midway through the second half.
Also in the mix is 2024 African Footballer of The Year, Ademola Lookman who has three goals and four assists to his name, with the opportunity of two matches left for him to try more in snatching the goal leader’s gong for AFCON 2025.
