Arguably the best striker to have graced the continent, Samuel Eto’o Fils, participated in 6 different AFCONs for Cameroon and won the coveted trophy twice making his debut in CAN 2000 as an 18-year-old boy. Eto’o scored his first ever AFCON goal against Ivory Coast in CAN 2000 when he scored the second on the stroke of halftime as the Indomitable Lions destroyed the Elephants 3-0 at the Accra Sports Stadium on 28th January 2000. Eto’o went on to score in the quarter-finals, semi-finals and finals of CAN 2000 hence helping the Indomitable Lions to win their 3rd AFCON title. He finished the tournament in the CAF Team of the Tournament after scoring 4 goals with just one behind the eventual top scorer Shaun Bartlet (5 goals) of South Africa. It was a sign of what the talented young forward was going to give to the continent in the future.
In CAN 2002, Eto’o scored 1 goal in a 3-0 win over Togo in the final game of the Group Stage as Cameroon defended their title.
Eto’o found the back of the net once in CAN 2004 in the quarter-finals against Nigeria with Cameroon losing 2-1.
His best moments came when he finished as the top scorer in both CAN 2006 and 2008 scoring 5 goals in each tournament.
Samuel Eto’o arrived in CAN 2008 having scored 11 goals from 4 AFCONS. He was trailing legendary Ivory Coast striker Laurent Pokou by 3 goals. Eto’o scored twice in the Cameroons’ 4-2 defeat against Egypt in their opening game in Kumasi making it 13 goals.
Laurent Pokou’s record was under huge threat considering the form of the Barcelona forward. In Cameroon’s second game at the Baba Yara Sports Stadium in Kumasi, Eto’o scored a 66th-minute penalty against Zambia in an emphatic 5-1 win for Cameroon. Samuel Eto’o has equalled a record that had stood for 38 years.
It was time for the king to break it when Cameroon played Sudan in Tamale on 30th January 2008. The Indomitable Lions mauled Sudan 3-0 with Eto’o scoring a brace to break and set a new record with 16 goals as the all-time topscorer for the AFCON.
Samuel Eto’o scored twice in 2010 AFCON to finish his journey of scoring in every AFCON he participated in.
In all, Eto’o scored 18 goals in 6 AFCONS. This enviable record will be 16 years old when the 34th edition of the AFCON kicks off in Ivory Coast on 13th January. It will take numerous decades before anyone gets closer to this record as consistency and Grade A performances are the keys to equaling, breaking and setting new ones.
