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NIGERIA’S ODION IGHALO IS CONFIRMED AS GOLDEN BOOT WINNER

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The failure of star players in Friday’s Africa Cup of Nations’ final match to score has benefited Nigeria’s lead striker, Odion Ighalo.

Neither Senegal’s Sadio Mane nor the duo of Algeria’s Riyad Mahreb and Adam Ounas, who were on three goals each, scored in the final match.

Thus, CAF has confirmed Ighalo who had five goals as the Golden Boot winner.


It is the best tally for a Nations Cup top scorer since Egyptian striker Mohamed “Gedo” Nagy scored five goals in 2010.

Also, Algeria midfielder Ismail Bennacer was awarded the best player prize of the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations on Friday.

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The 22-year-old tireless midfielder produced a string of outstanding performances, breaking up most of the opponents’ attacks but also remarkably providing three assists upfront, including the one from which Baghdad Bounedjah scored the winner in a 1-0 final victory over Senegal.

The Empoli midfielder is the only player to feature in Algeria’s entire seven games. He was only substituted once in injury time against Senegal in the group stage.


Algeria’s Rais M’Bolhi was also named the tournament’s best keeper, thanks to some superb displays between the sticks. 

List of leading scorers at African Nations Cup finals tournaments:

  • 1957- Ad El Diba (Egypt) 5 goals.
  • 1959– Mahmoud Al Gohari (Egypt) 3 goals.
  • 1962– Mohamed Al Badawi (Egypt) and Worku Mengistu (Ethiopia) 3 goals.
  • 1963– Ahmed Al Chazli (Egypt) 6 goals.
  • 1965– Abbrey Osei Kofi (Ghana) and Eustace Mangli (Cote d’Ivoire) 3 goals.
  • 1968– Laurent Pokou (Cote d’Ivoire) 6 goals.
  • 1970– Laurent Pokou (Cote d’Ivoire) 8 goals.
  • 1972- Salif Keita (Mali), 5 goals.
  • 1974- Mulamba Ndaye (Zaire) 9 goals.
  • 1976- William Njo Lea (Guinea) 4 goals.
  • 1978– Phillip Omondi (Uganda) 4 goals.
  • 1980– Segun Odegbami (Nigeria) 3 goals.
  • 1982– George Al Hassan (Ghana) 4 goals.
  • 1984– Taher Abou Zeid (Egypt) 4 goals.
  • 1986– Roger Milla (Cameroon), Abdoulaye Traore (Cote d’Ivoire) 4 goals.
  • 1988– Lakhdar Belloumi (Algeria), Roger Milla (Cameroon), Gamal Abdelhamid (Egypt) and Abdoulaye Traore (Cote d’Ivoire) 4 goals.
  • 1990– Djamel Menad (Algeria) 4 goals.
  • 1992– Rachidi Yekini (Nigeria) 4 goals.
  • 1994– Rachidi Yekini (Nigeria) 5 goals.
  • 1996– Kalusha Bwalya (Zambia) 5 goals.
  • 1998– Hossam Hassan (Egypt) and Benni McCarthy (South Africa) 7 goals.
  • 2000– Shaun Bartlett (South Africa) 5 goals.
  • 2002– Patrick Mboma, Salomon Olembe (both Cameroon) and Julius Aghahowa (Nigeria) 3 goals.
  • 2004– Patrick Mboma (Cameroon), Frederic Kanoute (Mali), Austin Okocha (Nigeria), Youssef Mokhtari (Morocco) and Francileudo dos Santos (Tunisia) 4 goals.
  • 2006- Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon), Ahmed Hassan (Egypt) and Francileudo dos Santos (Tunisia) 4 goals.
  • 2008– Samuel Eto’o (Cameroon) 5 goals.
  • 2010– Mohamed Nagui (Egypt) 5 goals.
  • 2012- Manucho (Angola), Pierre-Emerick Aubameyang (Gabon), Didier Drogba (Ivory Coast), Cheick Tidiane Diabate (Mali), Houcine Kharja (Morocco) Chris Katongo, Emmanuel Mayuka (both Zambia) 3 goals.
  • 2013: Emmanuel Emenike (Nigeria), Mubarak Wakaso (Ghana), 4 goals.
  • 2015: Ahmed Akaichi (Tunisia), Andre Ayew (Ghana), Dieumerci Mbokani (DR Congo), Javier Balboa (Equatorial Guinea), Thievy Biffouma (Congo) – 3 goals.
  • 2017: Junior Kabananga (DR Congo) – 3 goals
  • 2019: Odion Ighalo (Nigeria) – 5 goals

Kunle Solaja is the author of landmark books on sports and journalism as well as being a multiple award-winning journalist and editor of long standing. He is easily Nigeria’s foremost soccer diarist and Africa's most capped FIFA World Cup journalist, having attended all FIFA World Cup finals from Italia ’90 to Qatar 2022. He was honoured at the Qatar 2022 World Cup by FIFA and AIPS.

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