FEATURE: Who could top AFCON's scoring charts ?

Published on: 26 January 2015
FEATURE: Who could top AFCON's scoring charts ?
Thievy Bifouma

With only Congo and hosts Equatorial Guinea having qualified for the knockout stage of the 2015 Africa Cup of Nations, three groups (B,C,D) still have to wrap up their matches and we take a look at the top scorers thus far.

In this 30th edition of the continental showpiece, one would argue that it hasn’t lived up to the supporters’ expectations from a goal-scoring perspective, with only 33 players finding the back of the net.

However, only 34 goals have been scored, with Congo’s Thievy Boufoma Koulossa leading the charts after scoring two.

The tournament has been dominated by draws, raising questions about strategies or tactics employed by coaches: are they defensive in their approach? The fact that the leading goal-scorer only has two strikes next to his name suggests a bit of negativity by managers in the tournament.

With the second round set to get underway and most teams already packing their bags, the tournament will change altogether as there won’t be draws anymore.

Looking at the players who could lead the scorers chart, one is tempted to give Koulossa a shot, hoping that he continues to net crucial goals for the Red Devils.

Mali’s Sambou Yatabare has the nerve to get into great scoring positions and could add to his single goal provided he scores in their next match against Guinea.

On the other hand, Ghana’s skipper Asamoah Gyan made his highly anticipated comeback against Algeria with a winner and should he carry that form, he could help the Black Stars against South Africa.

It becomes a daunting task to predict who could end the tournament as a top scorer, but with one of the big games of the tournament yet to come, Cameroon’s Benjamin Moukandjo and Cote d’Ivoire’s Max Gradel will be expected to bang them in. Both their teams will clash in the final match of Group D, which is a must win following draws by all teams in the group including the National Elephants of Guinea and Eagles of Mali.

Having speculated as to who could claim the Golden Boot, Gyan’s hunger to lead and revive the Black Stars’ hopes of progressing to the quarterfinals is worth a mention and gives him a chance to claim the award.

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