There is one day left before the curtain of the 2023 African Cup of Nations (AFCON) opens with the first game between the hosts Ivory Coast and Guinea Bissau to be played on Saturday, January 13, 2024
24 nations have qualified, the 34th championship since its inception in 1957, where for the first time Egypt won the title of the competition
While counting down the hours before the relevant opening day of the tournament, there is a lot to highlight and here is the list of players who played the most games of the tournament
RIGOBERT SONG- CAMEROON (MATCH 36)
This former Cameroon defender, is the player who played the most games in the history of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) appearing in 36 games.
Song started appearing at the first Afcon in 1996, later he appeared again in 1998, 2000, 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, 2010
SAMUEL ETOO-CAMEROON (MATCH 29)Regarded not only as one of Cameroon's greatest footballers but also considered one of the best African footballers of all time, Samuel Eto'o is a 40-year-old retired striker who played for top European clubs such as Barcelona, Inter Milan, Chelsea, and Everton
He also served the national team of Cameroon from 1997 to 2014 playing 118 matches and scoring 56 goals
What makes Samuel Eto'o unique in the list of footballers with the most appearances in the Africa Cup of Nations is that he is the all-time top scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations with 18 goals scored in six Afcon seasons
p>He started playing Afcon from 2000, 2002. , 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2010. And not only that, he is also Cameroon's all-time top scorer and the third Cameroonian football player with the most goals. 56 in 118 international matches
YAYA TOURE-IVORY COAST (MATCH 29)
Haya Toure is the most capped African Cup of Nations player for his country, Toure is a recently retired 38-year-old midfielder who played for Barcelona and Manchester City
Toure participated in six editions of Afcon namely 2006, 2008, 2010, 2012, 2013, and 2015, with the national team he won the championship in 2015. He scored a total of 6 goals, provided 7 assists, and received 5 yellow cards in all his 29 matches at the Africa Cup of Nations
Courtesy of Habarileo
