Goals per Game at the Africa Cup of Nations, Edition by Edition

Is the Africa Cup of Nations becoming more defensive? We counted the goals at every edition since 1957.

The trend

Editions before 1990 averaged 2.73 goals per match; since 2000 the average is 2.24. The highest-scoring tournament was 1962 (4.5 goals per match), and the lowest-scoring was 1988 (1.44).

Why scoring has changed

Fewer mismatches: early tournaments had only a handful of teams and big gaps in quality. Qualifying now filters out weaker sides.
Tactical organisation: modern coaching and video analysis make teams harder to break down, especially in tense knock-out matches.
More teams, more caution: with 24 teams since 2019 and four third-placed teams qualifying from the groups, a draw can be enough, which encourages cautious play.

Where to find the goals

Every edition page lists all results and the top scorers, for example AFCON 2023. See the all-time AFCON top scorers and the biggest wins in AFCON history.

Goals per match, every edition

Edition	Matches	Goals	Per match
1957 Sudan	2	7	3.5
1959 Egypt	3	8	2.67
1962 Ethiopia	4	18	4.5
1963 Ghana	8	33	4.12
1965 Tunisia	8	31	3.88
1968 Ethiopia	16	52	3.25
1970 Sudan	16	51	3.19
1972 Cameroon	16	53	3.31
1974 Egypt	17	54	3.18
1976 Ethiopia	18	54	3.0
1978 Ghana	15	36	2.4
1980 Nigeria	16	33	2.06
1982 Libya	16	32	2.0
1984 Ivory Coast	16	39	2.44
1986 Egypt	16	31	1.94
1988 Morocco	16	23	1.44
1990 Algeria	16	30	1.88
1992 Senegal	20	34	1.7
1994 Tunisia	20	44	2.2
1996 South Africa	29	78	2.69
1998 Burkina Faso	32	93	2.91
2000 Ghana & Nigeria	32	73	2.28
2002 Mali	32	48	1.5
2004 Tunisia	32	88	2.75
2006 Egypt	32	73	2.28
2008 Ghana	32	99	3.09
2010 Angola	29	71	2.45
2012 Gabon & Equatorial Guinea	32	76	2.38
2013 South Africa	32	69	2.16
2015 Equatorial Guinea	32	68	2.12
2017 Gabon	32	66	2.06
2019 Egypt	52	102	1.96
2021 Cameroon	52	100	1.92
2023 Ivory Coast	52	119	2.29
2025 Morocco	52	123	2.37

The trend

Why scoring has changed

Where to find the goals

Goals per match, every edition

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