AFCON: 10 Memorable Highlights Over the Decades

The most guaranteed thing at every men’s African Cup of Nations (AFCON) is that history is always being made. It’s the place where minnows bring giants to their knees, and dominance isn’t an assurance of wins. It’s also where unprecedented records are set, one penalty kick is a chance at immortality, and iconic celebrations become an indelible part of culture for years.

As we enter AFCON season, we’re taking a look back on some of the most memorable moments at African football’s premier tournament. Below are ten of them.

DR Congo Triumph at a Final Rematch

For the first time since AFCON’s inception, nothing could separate both finalists at the 1974 edition and it took a replay for a winner to emerge. Inside Cairo’s Nasser Stadium, DR Congo – then known as Zaire – thought it had dealt the decisive blow, after Ndaye Mulamba scored his second goal of the first final match deep into extra time. Zambia responded a few minutes late, just as extra time was expiring, through a Brighton Sinyangwe strike. This was before the advent of the penalty shootout formats, so the draw meant both sides had to face off two days later at the Cairo International Stadium. Mulamba proved to be the decider, scoring two goals and his team kept its composure to keep a clean sheet. Mulamba scored nine goals at the competition, and it remains the record for the highest number of goals scored at a single AFCON tournament.

The Longest Penalty Shootout there Ever was at an AFCON Final

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By 1992, penalty shootouts were in place and it was the differentiating factor at the AFCON final match. Without reigning African Footballer of the Year Abedi Pele, Ghana was missing the kind of major firepower that would’ve helped in breaking down the resolute defence of Cȏte d’Ivoire, which hadn’t conceded a single goal in its four matches heading into the final. The Ivorian Elephants had beaten Cameroon via penalties in the semi-finals and would repeat the same feat against Ghana, albeit in more dramatic fashion. This was the first time every player on the field took a spot kick. After the required five penalty kicks, both teams were levelled at four penalties scored, and it wasn’t until Anthony Baffoe missed Ghana’s twelfth penalty – his second – that a winner emerged. A similar scenario played out at the 2015 AFCON final, and Cȏte d’Ivoire again held its nerve to win 9-8 after eleven penalties each were taken.

Resilience Transforms Zambian Tragedy into near-Triumph

Nearly a year before AFCON 1994, an aircraft carrying most of Zambia’s national team crashed into the Atlantic Ocean, shortly after taking off from its second refuel stop in Libreville, Gabon. All 25 passengers, including 18 players, and five crew members died in the crash. On the back of this disaster, the largely reconstructed team fought its way through to the final, shutting out all four opponents with an unbreachable defense, including an emphatic 4-0 routing of Mali in the semi-final. It seemed like the perfect story was going to be completed, after Elijah Litana gave Zambia the lead just three minutes into the match. Two minutes later, Emmanuel Amuneke breached the Zambian team’s goal for the first time all tournament, and he would do so again two minutes into the second half. Zambia lost out in that final but that run will always be remarkable for its show of resilience. 

South Africa’s Winning AFCON Debut Post-Apartheid

1996 was the first time CAF expanded the number of teams at AFCON to sixteen. Nigeria eventually dropped out, making it fifteen teams, due to Nelson Mandela’s criticisms of Nigeria’s dictator at the time, Sani Abacha. It marked the first time South Africa competed at the tournament, after decades of being barred due to apartheid. South Africa also stepped in as hosts to replace Kenya, eager to organize a great competition and also show itself as a powerhouse in African football. To the latter, they opened their campaign with an emphatic 3-0 win over Cameroon, then two-time AFCON champions already. Led by John Moshoeu and Mark Williams, who scored four goals each and eight out of the nine goals their team scored all tournament, South Africa won AFCON for the first and only time in its history, a victory gilded by the post-apartheid optimism.

The Nigerian Teenager that Introduced an Iconic Celebration at AFCON 2000

Nine days before his 18th birthday, Julius Agahowa made his senior national team debut. Not too long after his introduction, Agahowa scored the goal that confirmed Nigeria’s qualification into the knockout round at AFCON 2000. After a long clearance from the Nigerian defense, Agahowa forced himself through two defenders to win the ball and kept his composure to score. His celebration, six backflips, became instantly iconic and was the choice of celebrations for young Nigerians and some West Africans who played street and amateur football for years to come. A few days later, staring down the barrel of defeat against Senegal in the quarter-final, Agahowa repeated similar heroics; he scored five minutes from stoppage time to even the scores at 1-1 and he also scored the decider two minutes into extra time. Both times, he pulled out the backflips to celebrate. 

The Most Miraculous Comeback in AFCON History 

AFCON 2010 started with a match for the ages. Almost all the time, a 4-0 lead guarantees victory – even more so when that lead is intact with just over ten minutes left of the 90 minutes. Hosts Angola were on cloud nine after putting four past Mali’s goalkeeper Mahamadou Sidibe. Rather than simply roll over, an improbable comeback over the course of 15 minutes was the Eagle’s response, starting with a scrappy goal by Seydou Keita in the 79th minute, after a goalkeeping fumble in the Angolan box. Keita scored Mali’s third goal about 13 minutes later with a sublime strike, shortly after Frédéric Kanouté’s powerful header showed that the Eagles had signs of life. The comeback was completed by Mustapha Yatabaré’s rebound strike in the fourth minute of added time. Angolan hearts were broken, but it was emblematic of the drama AFCON has and will always be known for.

Egypt’s Stunning Hat Trick of AFCON Titles

The moment Mohamed Nagy Ismail Afash – popularly known as Gedo – was substituted into the final match of AFCON 2010, it felt like a premonition. He had already scored in four of the matches he was brought on. Sure enough, 15 minutes after his introduction and five minutes to the end of regulation time, Gedo found his way through on goal after receiving a return pass from teammate Mohamed Zidan and he wasted no touches: A control touch and a slick but powerful strike. The goal sealed a record consecutive third AFCON win for Egypt, and also extended their number of AFCON titles to seven. During that four-year streak, the Pharaohs put together teams that were dominated by players playing professionally in Egypt. Even without Mohamed Aboutrika, key in the previous two wins, the 2010 squad featured a number of veterans that provided a foundation of resilience born from continuity.

Hervé Renard: Two Countries, Two AFCON Titles

Nearly 29 years after the disastrous crash that claimed the lives of eighteen players, Zambia was playing in an AFCON final – its first since the 1994 final. Heading into the match, the odds were heavily in favor of Cȏte d’Ivoire, which paraded a stacked team of international stars. The Zambian team didn’t blink, holding the Ivorian side to a goalless draw after extra time. They won their first AFCON title in a tense penalty shootout. Three years later, Cȏte d’Ivoire were in a similar situation, and the man at the coaching dugout was the same man who helped Zambia defeat the Elephants back in 2012. Hervé Renard infused a higher level of grit and mental toughness to a side that already had the flair. Also similar to the 1992 final, against the same opponent, Cȏte d’Ivoire beat Ghana in a long, tense penalty shootout, making Renard the first and only coach so far to win AFCON with two different countries.

When Africa’s Foremost Football Superstars Faced Off for a Chance at History

In the seventh minute of the 2021 AFCON final between Senegal and Egypt, Sadio Mané missed a penalty. It felt like déjà vu was right around the corner. Two years before, Mané and his teammates were narrowly edged out by Algeria in the previous final, and it seemed like Senegal would still continue to hunt for its ever-elusive AFCON title. This opportunity was made more special because Mané was facing his then-Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, both the foremost stars in African football and both of them hoping to lift the AFCON trophy for the first time. At the end of regulation and extra time, no goals were scored. Two Pharaohs missed their penalties and Mané had the chance to make history for the Teranga Lions; he stepped up and smacked an emphatic spot kick into the bottom left corner. Unbridled joy was written all over his face, a glimpse of what winning this tournament truly means.

Ronwen Williams Saves Four (!) of Five Penalty Kicks

Every time a Cape Verdean player ran up to play penalty against South Africa’s Ronwen Williams, it felt as if they were up against a brick wall. They might as well have; Williams was in the kind of flow state goalkeepers rarely enter during penalty shootouts. Following a goalless draw in their quarterfinal match at AFCON 2023, held in early 2024 in Cȏte d’Ivoire, the difficulty of finding the back of the net carried over to spot kicks. South Africa managed to score two out of the four penalties its players took, and were carried by Williams’ heroics. The first three penalties by the Blue Sharks, frankly, were well taken, they just weren’t good enough to beat a goalkeeper who didn’t just guess right, but also leapt with force. Even the only one of the five penalties to beat the Bafana Bafana shotstopper was incredibly precise but it only just snuck in. It was an all-time penalty saving display that will remain a classic moment for years and years to come.