The AFCON heading into its final game, and as we take a look at the potential golden boot winners, what stands out is the lack of the usual suspects. Equatorial Guinea striker Emilio Nsue leads the way with five to his name, with this accolade seemingly wrapped up.
AFCON Golden Boot Odds
Player (Goals) | Odds |
Emilio Nsue (5) Equatorial Guinea | 1/50 |
Ademola Lookman (3) Nigeria | 50/1 |
Victor Osimhen (1) Nigeria | 100/1 |
All odds are courtesy of bet365, correct at the time of publishing and subject to change.
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Of course how deep a side goes into the tournament is also crucial, as it provides their players with more opportunities to score and increase their tally for the tournament, as you can check out our breakdown of the AFCON winner odds.
Just one winner of the trophy has scored more than five goals in the modern era, Vincent Aboubakar in 2021 with seven, as some have been able to secure it with as few as three, Junior Kabananga for the DRC back in 2017.
Emilio Nsue currently leads the way with five goals to his name, with everyone else sitting at least two goals back. Five has been enough to claim the trophy in the past, yet more goals look to be on the horizon, with this being one of the highest-scoring AFCONs in memory.
Emilio Nsue @1/50
One could be forgiven for not being entirely familiar with Emilio Nsue before the tournament began, as the Equatoguinean, hails from the third division of Spanish football, playing his trade for CF Intercity in Alicante.
However, the AFCON has a way of spinning rags-to-riches stories, as Nsue has been launched onto the international stage with his slew of goals.
However, his side have now been knocked out, losing at the hands of Guinea. This of course cuts short his opportunity for any more goals, yet one would of course rather be leading from the front.
This is one accolade where you would rather have the goals in hand, and this is something he has.
Ademola Lookman @50/1
Ademola Lookman has been plying his trade around Europe for some time now having played for the likes of Everton, Fulham, Leicester and Atalanta.
He has impressed in his time in Italy and this has translated into his efforts on the internet stage, as he now sits as Nigeria’s top goalscorer, ahead of Osimhen who is considered their best player.
Similar to his compatriot, who is ahead of him in the betting, based seemingly on pedigree alone, Lookman may be set to have more matches within which he can bag goals.
Getting chances is entirely different to taking them, however, and Lookman appears to be the best at doing this in the Nigerian squad right now. Yet, at 50/1 the likelihood of him claiming this honour is slim.
He needs to score at least two goals in the final, this then allowing him to to pip Nsue to the accolade on assists
Nevertheless, the talent in the Nigerian squad is virtually unrivalled, meaning he would have to emerge as their preeminent player, something difficult with Osimhen in the side.
Victor Osimhen @100/1
Napoli’s title-winning effort was only made possible by the goalscoring exploits of Victor Oshimen as the Nigerian international put the footballing world on notice with his impressive 31 goals in 39 games.
He has dropped off slightly this term but was hampered by injury at the start of the season, now having scored 8 in 18 so far.
And whilst he is certainly the best striker in his side, there is a wealth of talent that he may have to contend with, joined by the likes of Kelechi Iheanaco, Leicester City and Samuel Chukwueze, AC Milan, to name a few.
This has hampered his efforts already as he has only one goal to his name, this could be an issue for the Napoli striker, as he now needs to score four in the final and have an assist.
Whilst he is the best striker in the tournament this would be virtually unheard of as he looks unlikely to come close to claiming this title.