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Africa Cup of Nations records and statistics

This is a list of records and statistics of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Summary

<div id="*"><nowiki>*</nowiki> hosts</div>
<sup>1</sup> as United Arab Republic
<sup>2</sup> as Congo-Kinshasa
<sup>3</sup> as Zaire

Debut of national teams

Teams yet to qualify for finals

Ten teams are yet to qualify for AFCON finals:

Longest appearance droughts

Overall team records

In this ranking 3 points are awarded for a win, 1 for a draw and 0 for a loss. As per statistical convention in football, matches decided in extra time are counted as wins and losses, while matches decided by penalty shoot-outs are counted as draws. Teams are ranked by total points, then by goal difference, then by goals scored.

Medal table

Comprehensive team results by tournament

For each tournament, the number of teams in each finals tournament (in brackets) are shown.

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Legend
  • – Champions
  • – Runners-up
  • – Third place
  • – Fourth place
  • QF – Quarter-finals
  • R16 – Round of 16
  • GS – Group stage
  • Q — Qualified for upcoming tournament
  • — Qualified but withdrew / Disqualified after qualification
  • — Did not qualify
  • — Did not enter / Withdrew / Disqualified
  • — Hosts
  • — Not affiliated to CAF

Results of host nations

Results of defending champions

General statistics by tournament

Records

Most titles: 7

Teams winning on debut: 3

Consecutive title wins: 3

Most appearances: 27

Most consecutive appearances: 17

Goalscorers

Overall top goalscorers

Players in bold are still active at the international level as of 2025. Years in bold indicate a winning campaign.

Goalscoring records

Landmark goalscorers

Raafat Attia scored the first ever goal at the Africa Cup of Nations; in the first match of the inaugural tournament on 10 February 1957, he got the opening goal for against hosts in a 2–1 victory.

Ad-Diba was the first ever player to score a hat-trick in an Africa Cup of Nations match; he scored four for in a 4–0 victory against on 16 February 1957, the final match of the inaugural tournament.

Ad-Diba was also the first ever top goalscorer for an Africa Cup of Nations tournament, scoring 5 goals for in 1957.

Oldest goalscorer

Hossam Hassan was 39 years and 174 days old when he scored for against in a 4–1 victory on 3 February 2006.

Fastest goals

Latest goal (regulation time)

90+10th minute, Bruno Zita Mbanangoyé for against in 2012 (3–2 victory).

Latest goal (including extra time)

120+4th minute, Mohamed Salah for against in 2025 (3–1 victory).

Most goals in a single match

Laurent Pokou scored 5 goals for in a 6–1 victory against in 1970.

Most goals in a single tournament

Ndaye Mulamba scored 9 goals for in the 1974 tournament.

Goalscoring goalkeeper in the tournament

Kennedy Mweene is the first and only goalkeeper to score a goal (for ) in an Africa Cup of Nations, in 2013.

Most hat-tricks

Hassan El-Shazly scored 2 tournament hat-tricks for the : one in 1963 and one in 1970.

Most tournaments with a goal

Kalusha Bwalya (for ), Samuel Eto'o (for ), Asamoah Gyan and André Ayew (both for ) each scored at least one goal in a record six different tournaments. Bold indicates a winning campaign.

Goalscorers in all tournament appearances

The following are all the former international players who scored at least once in all of their tournament appearances (at least three appearances).

Highest goalscorers in a single tournament

The following players finished as top goalscorer with five or more goals in a single tournament. Bold indicates a winning campaign.

Top goalscorers in multiple tournaments

The following players finished as the top goalscorer in at least two different tournaments.

Hat-tricks

Appearances

Most tournament appearances

The following players appeared in at least six different AFCON tournaments:

Player records

Oldest player

Essam El Hadary was 44 years and 21 days old when he played for in the final against on 5 February 2017.

Most matches played

Rigobert Song (for , between 1998 and 2010) and André Ayew (for , between 2008 and 2023) each played in a record 36 matches at the tournament.

Most titles won

Coaching

Titles won

Most titles won as coach

Most consecutive titles won as coach

Coaches who retained title

Coaches who won titles with multiple teams

Won title as both player and coach

Appearance in final as both player and coach

Most nations coached in tournament

Most tournament appearances as coach

Titles won by foreign coaches

First foreign coach to win tournament

Most titles won as foreign coach

Foreign coaches who also won other major tournaments

Country with most titles by coaches from there

  • 5 managers,

Most tournaments hosted

* Co-hosts
in Italic : Upcoming tournament

Other team records

  • Ten nations have won the tournament as hosts:
  • (1959, 1986 and 2006)
  • (1963 and 1978)
  • (1962)
  • (1970)
  • (1980)
  • (1990)
  • (1996)
  • (2004)
  • (2023)
  • (2025)
  • (in 1957), (in 1963) and (in 1996) are the only teams to have won the tournament in their debut appearance.
  • (in 1957), (in 1963), (in 1982), (in 1996) and (in 2012) are the five teams to have hosted the tournament in their debut appearance.
  • (in 1963) and (in 1996) are the only teams to have hosted and won the tournament in their debut appearance.
  • became the first ever team to win the Africa Cup of Nations finals in 1957, and also the first team to retain the title in 1959.
  • has played the most matches in the tournament finals, with 118.
  • has participated in the most tournaments, with 27.
  • has the most points from matches played at the tournament finals, with 218.
  • is the only team to win three consecutive Africa Cup of Nations finals (in 2006, 2008 and 2010).
  • has appeared in the most final matches of the tournament, with ten appearances and seven wins.
  • had a penalty shoot-out winning streak of six, winning every shoot-out since their 5–4 win to in the 1986 final. This streak ended on 6 February 2022, when Egypt lost 4–2 on penalties 35 years later to .
  • is the team with the most consecutive appearances at the Africa Cup of Nations, with seventeen from 1994 to 2025.
  • (in 2002) and (in 2012) share the record for most clean sheets in a single tournament, with six each; they are also the only sides to reach the final of the tournament and not concede a single goal.
  • has placed on the podium a record seventeen times at the tournament (three gold medals, five silver medals and nine bronze medals).
  • In 2017, set a new record of 24 consecutive Africa Cup of Nations matches played without defeat, dating back to their last tournament appearance in 2010. During this run, Egypt also reached a record nine consecutive wins in AFCON matches after beating in the 2010 final, while becoming the first team to win three consecutive AFCON titles. The unbeaten run came to an end on 5 February 2017, after Egypt lost 1–2 to in the 2017 final.

Egypt's run

Consecutive championships

Teams that have won the Africa Cup of Nations consecutively and have become two-time champions (two consecutive titles) or three-time champions (three consecutive titles).

* indicate tournament hosts

Debut of teams in qualification

References