With the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations group stage now complete, we decided to take a look at who the most prolific marksmen in the first phase of the competition were.
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The latest AFCON has undoubtedly been a tournament for the ages, filled with lots of late drama and expected shocks.
Continental minnows have sprung some pleasant surprises, and some of the traditionally stronger nations have faltered at the competition's first hurdle.
Another spectacular surprise at this iteration is who is currently leading the Golden Boot race, and that is 34-year-old Equatorial Guinea striker Emilio Nsue.
The Palma de Mallorca native plays his football in the third division of Spain as a right-back, but for his nation, he is a fearsome striker.
Nsue came into the AFCON in good form as he scored game-winning goals in both his nation's 2026 FIFA World Cup qualifiers in late 2023, and while he did not score in his nation's opening matchday draw with Nigeria, he has not looked back since.
A brace against Guinea-Bissau and a hat-trick against hosts Ivory Coast put him at the top of the goalscoring standing, in a competition in which the likes of renowned superstars Mohamed Salah and Victor Osimhen have played.
Behind the veteran attacker in the ranking are perhaps more recognisable names in Egypt's Mostafa Mohamed and Algeria's Baghdad Bounedjah.
The former has stepped up for the record AFCON winners with the inconsistent form of captain and talisman Salah.
The Nantes man scored once in each of Egypt's three group matches, against Mozambique, Ghana and Cape Verde, as he ends the first round of AFCON with three goals and one assist.
While Mohamed will have the opportunity to add to his goalscoring tally as the Pharaohs have progressed to the knockout stages, the same cannot be said for Bounedjah.
The 32-year-old and his Algeria team finished at the bottom of their group and have been eliminated at this stage of the competition for the second successive edition of the showpiece.
The Al Sadd man also has three goals at AFCON as takes his all-time tally in the tournament to five strikes.
A number of players have two goals to their name, but many of them got them from the penalty spot. One of those who have not, however, is Mali's Lassine Sinayoko.
The 24-year-old and his Elephants team managed to top what many considered to be the Group of Death, and it was in large part due to the Auxerre man's goals as his strikes against South Africa and Tunisia helped the west Africans set up a knockout stage encounter against Burkina Faso.
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A player who has lived up to his hype is perhaps Mohammed Kudus. This was the 23-year-old's first ever AFCON and he announced his arrival in a big way as he scored a brace against record winners Egypt on his debut. Like Bounedjah, however, his goals did not translate into team success as the Black Stars also bowed out at the group stage for a second straight edition.
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