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Thursday, March 28, 2024

AFCON 2017: Asamoah Gyan on the cusp of triple history

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Photos By Senyuiedzorm A. Adadevoh

Ghana Captain Asamoah Gyan will equal Ghana football legend Abedi Ayew Pele’s Africa Cup of Nations appearance record at this year’s tournament.

The former Ghana captain remains the only player to have made six appearances at the tournament.

The fleet footed attacker  made his debut Nations Cup appearance in 1982 as a teen at the age of  17 years and later played at the 1984, 1992, 1994, 1996 and 1998 editions.

Gyan has been to five tournaments and this year’s edition will be his sixth. (2008, 2010, 2012, 2013 and 2015) and marked his AFCON debut by scoring a penalty against Guinea which was also the first goal of the 2008 edition held in Ghana.

The former Sunderland star will also be hoping to lead Ghana to their fifth Nations Cup title after the team narrowly missed out on the trophy in the last edition held in Equatorial Guinea.

In addition to the appearance record, the Ghana captain surpass all time Ghanaian AFCON leading scorer Osei Kofi should he score two goals in Gabon, Osei Kofi currently has 7 goals while Asamoah Gyan is tied on 6 alongside Wilberforce Mfum, Abedi Ayew and George Alhassan. All three are inactive now leaving Asamoah Gyan with the chance to equal the record in the least or be the outright top scorer.

Judging by the fact that Gyan has scored for Ghana in all the competitons he has played for in the Black Stars, it is inevitable he is on the verge of setting another record.

Should he score  at least two goals in the tournament, then it will be the landmark 50th goal for the striker. Gyan last scored in June 2015 during Ghana’s 7-1 hammering of Mauritius in a qualifying series match to the AFCON in Gabon.

All of Gyan’s six goals listed below:

20 January 2008   Ghana 2-1 Guinea

15 January 2010 Ivory Coast 3-1 Ghana

24 January 2010 Angola 0-1 Ghana

28 January 2010 Nigeria 0-1 Ghana

28 January 2012 Mali 0-2 Ghana

23 January 2015 Algeria 0-1 Ghana

 

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