Salah vs Osimhen: Africa’s Epic Showdown at AFCON 2025

Salah vs Osimhen: Africa’s Epic Showdown at AFCON 2025

There are moments in football that feel less like coincidence and more like destiny revealing itself in real time. Mohamed Salah’s winning goal yesterday was one of those moments. The timing could not have been more poetic. Only days ago, Jamie Carragher publicly questioned Salah’s stature, suggesting that his greatness is confined to Liverpool and pointing, once again, to the glaring absence of an AFCON title on his résumé. Now, with the continent watching and the stakes rising, Salah has responded in the only language football truly understands.

For years, Salah’s international record has been the soft underbelly of his otherwise flawless legacy. Despite multiple AFCON finals and near-misses with Egypt, the trophy has continued to elude him. Those failures, often unfairly reduced to individual blame, have shaped the narrative around him: a global superstar who dominates Europe but somehow falls short on the African stage. In debates about the greatest African player of all time, that missing AFCON medal is repeatedly weaponised against him, regardless of his consistency, leadership, or sheer output for club and country.

This season has not helped his case either. At Liverpool, this season, Salah’s role has been more carefully managed. While “benching” may be an exaggeration, rotation and reduced minutes, unfamiliar territory for a player once undroppable, have fed the perception that his influence is waning. In contrast, a new generation is rising, and none more forcefully than Victor Osimhen.

Osimhen’s numbers make uncomfortable reading for anyone arguing against his claim to Africa’s throne. At club level, he has established himself as one of Europe’s most lethal forwards, surpassing the 100-goal mark in senior football and playing a decisive role in Napoli’s historic Serie A title win. For Nigeria, he has scored over 20 goals in fewer than 40 appearances, an exceptional return that places him among the most efficient strikers the Super Eagles have ever produced. In major tournaments and qualifiers alike, Osimhen has been Nigeria’s cutting edge: relentless, explosive, and unapologetically decisive.

Yet, while Osimhen’s star continues to rise, Salah’s struggles with Egypt remain a defining subplot of his career. AFCON finals lost, World Cup dreams crushed on penalties, and the constant burden of carrying a nation’s expectations has taken its toll. But it is precisely this weight that makes moments like yesterday’s goal resonate.

What makes this AFCON particularly compelling is what lies beyond national pride. The CAF African Footballer of the Year award looms large in the background. History suggests that tournament success often tips the balance, and it is difficult to imagine a scenario where the winner of this AFCON, and its standout performer, does not walk away with the continent’s most prestigious individual honour. If Salah leads Egypt to glory, the long-standing argument against his greatness collapses instantly. If Osimhen fires Nigeria to the title, his coronation as Africa’s best player feels inevitable.

In a few hours, Osimhen steps onto the pitch, and with him comes the sense that this tournament is no longer just about teams; it is about legacy. Africa appears poised for a symbolic crowning: of the best country, yes, but also of the best player on the continent. Whether it is Salah completing his destiny or Osimhen announcing a new era, AFCON is shaping up to be a stage where careers are defined.