AFCON 2025: Own goals top scoring charts with four strikes as Africa Cup of Nations follows Euro 2024 trend

At the conclusion of the AFCON 2025 group stage, the tournament's leading scorer status belongs to... own goals. An oddity that must be placed in a broader context.

After the group phase, Morocco's Ayoub El Kaabi and his compatriot Brahim Diaz share the leading scorer status at AFCON 2025 level with Algeria's Riyad Mahrez and their three goals each. However, the "real" leading scorer already has four strikes to their name and, as a small surprise, it is own goals!

Equatorial Guinea's Saul Coco opened proceedings with his side's benefit going to Sudan on December 28 during matchday two. Ivory Coast's Ghislain Konan followed suit a few hours later by scoring for Cameroon. The following day, South Africa's Aubrey Modiba found the net in favour of Zimbabwe. Finally, Mozambique's Nene closed out this unfortunate sequence in spectacular fashion on Wednesday evening by scoring an improbable own goal in Cameroon's favour under pressure from Danny Namaso.

Own goals top scorers at last two Euros

With four own goals already registered, this AFCON is proving as prolific in that regard as the 2019 and 2023 editions (four goals each) and has already surpassed 2021 (three goals). Except we are talking about the entire competition here. With 16 matches still to be played, there is every chance that this 35th edition will establish a new record for own goals. In this sense, AFCON is simply following a broader trend: at the last two European Championships, own goals finished as top scorer with 11 strikes in 2021 and 10 in 2024.

Oddly enough, the World Cup has not been affected by this phenomenon, with the exception of the 2018 edition (12 own goals). In 2022, only Morocco's Nayef Aguerd (against Canada, 2-1) and Argentina's Enzo Fernandez scored own goals. It remains to be seen whether, for the first time, own goals will manage to finish as leading scorer at an AFCON this year...

This article was originally published on Afrik-Foot.