Top African scorers at the World Cup

By Peter Ochieng

From Nigeria to Cameroon, and Senegal to Morocco, African teams have always put their best feet forward at the World Cup, though no team from the continent has ever won the World Cup title.

The wait for a World Cup title by an African team may not be far, if lessons learnt from Morocco during the 2022 edition in Qatar is anything to go by. 

The North Africans became the first African team to grace the World semis, having gotten the better of formidable sides such as Portugal and Spain, along the way.

When it comes to individual players, some of them have left a mark with their goals at the World Cup. Here, therefore, is a list of top African scorers at the World Cup.

5. Papa Bouba Diop – 3 goals

The former Senegal midfielder etched his name in history books, when he scored Teranga Lions’ only goal as Senegal defeated France, then defending champions during the 2022 FIFA World Cup first group match.  

Diop scored two more in the tournament co-hosted by South Korea and Japan, as Senegal reached the quarterfinals – no mean achievement for underdogs and debutants.

He sadly passed away in 2020 at the age of 42. Former Senegal president Macky Sall and his 2002 teammates, were in attendance at his funeral.

4. Samuel Eto’o – 3 goals

Eto’o remains the best forward of African descent, having featured for top European teams such as Real Madrid, Barcelona, Inter Milan and Chelsea.

The current Cameroon football association (FECAFOOT) President scored 3 goals at the World Cup, a mark that is extremely low compared to his scoring prowess during his heydays.   

Eto’o represented Cameroon in four World Cup tournaments (1998 2002, 2006, 2010).

His three goals came against Saudi Arabia in 2002, and Denmark and Netherlands in 2010, in South Africa.

3. Ahmed Musa – 4 goals

He represented Nigeria in two World Cup editions, in 2014 and 2018.

The former winger scored a brace against Argentina in 2014, but his team eventually lost 3-2 due to some sloppy defending.

He then scored two more against Iceland in 2018.

2. Roger Milla – 5 goals

He has been widely covered as the oldest player to ever score at the World Cup. His strike against Russia in 1994 came while aged 42 years.

Milla came out of retirement in 1990 aged 38 to score four goals for Cameroon, a brace against Romania and another double versus Colombia to help Cameroon reach the quarterfinals.

As mentioned, he scored his 5th goal in 1994.

1. Asamoah Gyan – 6 goals

Nicknamed the Baby Jet, Gyan grabbed three assists in 11 appearances for Ghana over three tournaments between 2006 and 2014.

During the 2006 edition in Germany, he netted against the Czech Republic to help his side reach the second round.

In South Africa 2010, his three goals against Serbia, Australia and the United States helped Ghana to reach the quarterfinals.

He then swiftly turned from hero to villain as he missed a penalty against Uruguay. Had Gyan scored, he would have secured a first ever semi final place for an African nation.

Four years later in Brazil, he scored against eventual champions Germany and Portugal to take his tally to 6 World Cup goals.