Africa Cup of Nations 2023: Decoding the tournament stats
Ivory Coast came from behind to defeat Nigeria 2-1 in the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations final on Sunday. William Troost-Ekong handed Nigeria the lead in the 38th minute before former AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie netted the equalizer in the second half. Eventually, Sebastian Haller's 82nd-minute strike helped Ivory Coast lift the prestigious trophy. Here we decode the stats of the tournament.
Emilio Nsue wins the Golden Boot
Equatorial Guinea captain Emilio Nsue won the Golden Boot for scoring five goals in five games of the 2023 AFCON. Notably, he scored the only hat-trick of the tournament against Guinea Bissau. He also slammed home a brace against Ivory Coast in their 4-0 victory in the group stage. Angola's Gelson Dala and Egypt's Mostafa Mohamed jointly finished second with four goals each.
Third AFCON honor for Ivory Coast
Ivory Coast won their third AFCON title. Before this, they won the prestigious trophy in 1992 and 2015. Ivory Coast appeared in their fifth final, having finished runners-up twice in 2006 and 2012. 3-time winners, Nigeria have finished runners-up for the fifth time. Nigeria previously finished second in 1984, 1988, 1990, and 2000. Egypt have won the most AFCON titles (7).
AFCON champions as hosts
As per Opta, this is the 12th time in history that the host country has won the AFCON honor. This is the first time since Egypt did it in 2006. Overall, this is Ivory Coast's third AFCON title since their triumphs in 1992 and 2015.
Nigeria's William Troost-Ekong wins 'Best Player' award
Nigeria's captain William Troost-Ekong had a brilliant 2023 AFCON and rightfully won the 'Best Player' award. As per Opta, he is the first defender/full-back to score three goals in a single AFCON edition since Opta started collecting data in 2010. He scored two regulation-time penalties against Ivory Coast and South Africa (semi-final) before scoring from a header in the final.
Key records for Nigeria
Nigeria won two penalty shootouts against Cape Verde and South Africa in the quarter-finals and semi-finals respectively in the 2023 AFCON. They have now won six penalty shootouts at the AFCON, the joint-highest tally in the competition's history alongside Egypt. They have featured in eight AFCON finals while winning thrice. Only Egypt and Ghana (both 9) have played more AFCON finals.
South Africa's Ronwen Williams bags the 'Best Goalkeeper" award
South Africa's Ronwen Williams won the 'Best Goalkeeper' award for registering five clean sheets in the 2023 AFCON. He only conceded three goals from seven matches in the tournament. Nigeria's Stanley Nwabali was a close second with four clean sheets. Williams became the first goalkeeper to register four saves in a penalty shootout at the AFCON since Opta started collecting data.
Ronwen Williams scripted history for South Africa
As per Opta, Williams became the first South African goalkeeper to keep five clean sheets in a single edition of the Africa Cup of Nations tournament. He eclipsed former South African custodian Andre Arendse's four clean sheets in the 1996 AFCON.
