Incredible records Osimhen broke to earn world best player nomination
At the home front, Osimhen is also banging in the goals, scoring a hat-trick for the Super Eagles in the AFCON qualifiers against São Tomé and Príncipe.
Victor Osimhen
Napoli hitman, Victor Osimhen, is the rave of the moment as a result of his goalscoring prowess both at club level and national team.
The 24-year-old striker is banging goals with reckless abandon.
On 14th September 2023, he was nominated for the Best FIFA Men’s Player at the 2023 Awards as a result of his exploits in front of goal for club and country since last year.
This came a week after he was nominated for the 2023 Ballon d’Or award.
The Napoli striker was in impeccable form last season, helping his Italian side win their first Scudetto in 33 years.
Osimhen scored 25 league goals last season, beating off Lautaro Martinez of Inter Milan and AC Milan’s Rafael Leao to scoop the prize for the Best Striker in Serie A.
He also helped the team reach the quarter-final of the UEFA Champions League.
The feat earned the 24-year-old player the accolade as the first African to top the Serie A scorers’ chart.
He also broke George Weah’s record for the most goals scored by an African in the Italian league with the achievement.
At the home front, Osimhen is also banging in the goals. He scored a hat-trick for the Super Eagles of Nigeria in the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualifiers against São Tomé and Príncipe.
He was instrumental as the Super Eagles sealed a ticket for the delayed 2023 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON)
The Napoli striker ends the qualifiers as Nigeria’s top scorer with 10 goals from just five appearances.
That also took his tally to 20 goals for the national team.
With the 2023 AFCON ticket secured, the young striker will now be targeting to climb to the top of the Super Eagles’ scorers chart. He is already fourth on the table with 20 goals.
Rashidi Yekini sits top with 37 goals while Segun Odegbami is second with 23 goals.
Sitting in the third spot with 21 goals is ‘the Yak’, Yakubu Aiyegbeni.
Here are the top 10 scorers for the Super Eagles:
1. Rashidi Yekini
Yekini is Nigeria’s all-time leading scorer with 37 goals in 58 games. That is an impressive ratio of 0.63 goals per game.
2. Segun Odegbami
Popularly known as the ‘Mathematician’ because of his eyes for goals, Odegbami scored 23 goals in 46 games for the Nigerian national team. He achieved this milestone within a shorter period of time compared to the rest of the top ten. His national team career lasted from 1976 to 1982.
3. Yakubu Aiyegbeni
Aiyegbeni is a goal machine, scoring 21 goals in 57 games for Nigeria between 2000 and 2012.
4. Victor Osimhen
Osimhen scored a brace against Sierra Leone to take his Super Eagles tally to 17 goals, becoming the highest-scoring active player in the national team.
But in the team’s last match against Sao Tome, he scored a hat-trick to take his tally to 20.
He has achieved this feat in merely 26 appearances for the national team.
5. Ikechukwu Uche
Ikechukwu Uche spent eight years in the Super Eagles setup, playing 46 times for the team, and finding the back of the net 19 times.
He played for teams like Villarreal, Real Zaragoza, and Malaga among others.
6. Obafemi Martins
Obafemi Martins is one the very best strikers to have represented the Super Eagles of Nigeria.
He made 48 appearances and scored 18 goals. Out of them, 10 goals came in the 2006 WC Qualifiers in 12 outings.
7. Sunday Oyarekhua
Sunday Oyarekhua scored 17 goals in 28 games for the Nigeria national football team when they were still called the “Green Eagles” between 1971 and 1976.
8. Samson Siasia
He scored 16 goals in 51 caps for the national team.
He was a French Ligue 1 winner with Nantes and also won the AFCON with Nigeria in 1994.
Siasia played for the Super Eagles between 1984 and 1999 before retirement.
9. Odion Ighalo
The Al Hilal striker is tied with two other players on 16 goals for the Super Eagles but he has done so in 70 fewer games than Ahmed Musa.
Ighalo’s 16 goals were scored in 37 appearances for the Super Eagles since debuting in 2015.
10. Ahmed Musa
Musa is the most capped Super Eagles player.
He has scored 16 goals in 107 games since debuting for Nigeria in 2010.