The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations ( AFCON 2025 ) is already in the semifinal stage. This means that the wheat has been separated from the chaff, and the pretenders have made way for the contenders.
The semifinal games are set to be played on Wednesday, with Nigeria to slug it out with hosts Morocco, while record-winners Egypt will lock horns with Senegal.
But while the battle for African supremacy heats up, there is the small but important matter of where the Golden Boot for the highest goalscorer will go.
This year, it has been a tight race, as most of the top players have shown up and showed out. But as it stands, Morocco’s Brahim Diaz leads the show with five goals.
The Real Madrid star has scored in all five games he has started for the Atlas Lions in this tournament, and it seems like there is no stopping him at this point.
But following him closely is Nigeria’s poster boy Victor Osimhen. He has been key to the Super Eagles’ run in this tournament and has four goals to his name. He could have even added one or two more, but for the selfless maturity he has shown in this tournament, setting up sitters for teammates Akor Adams and Ademola Lookman.
However, just like Osimhen, Egypt’s Mohamed Salah has four goals at the AFCON 2025 . The Liverpool talisman is desperate to win the competition, and he has made a good case for himself with his impressive haul in Morocco.
Meanwhile, there are two players left in this tournament who have scored three goals: Morocco’s Ayoub El Kaabi and Lookman. But at this stage of the competition, goals are difficult to come by, so it is difficult to see them leapfrog the players in front of them in the goalscorers’ chart. Nonetheless, they can’t be fully ruled out.
With just two games left in this competition, the Golden Boot race definitely looks like one that will drag on until the final day. But it is difficult to see anyone getting ahead of Diaz who currently leads the race.
