Drogba, Essien, Other African Legends Who Never Won AFCON as Mohamed Salah Misses Another Chance
- Mohamed Salah will not win the Africa Cup of Nations after Egypt lost to Senegal in the 2025 semi-final
- The Liverpool forward has yet to capture the African gold despite the Pharaohs winning it seven times
- He could join a list of legendary footballers who never won the tournament, including Didier Drogba
Mohamed Salah has missed another chance to win the Africa Cup of Nations after Egypt lost to Senegal in the semi-final of the ongoing 2025 edition.
Former teammate and rival Sadio Mane handed Salah another AFCON heartbreak as he scored the only goal to help Senegal reach the final, similarly to the 2021 edition.
Source: Getty Images
Salah has won every trophy possible, including being named the African Footballer of the Year twice, but could finish his career without winning AFCON.
Salah and Mane after Senegal vs Egypt.
Legit.ng examines other African legends who never won AFCON.
African legends who didn't win AFCON
1. Didier Drogba
Drogba won all the trophies available at Chelsea and other clubs he played for and was a two-time African Footballer of the Year, but never laid his hands on the AFCON trophy.
He lost the 2006 and 2012 finals to Egypt and Zambia. Côte d'Ivoire won it in 2015 after Drogba announced his international retirement.
2. Nwankwo Kanu
Nigerian football legend Nwankwo is one of the most decorated Nigerian footballers, but the AFCON trophy was elusive in his stacked trophy cabinet.
He was not part of Nigeria's triumphant AFCON 1994 squad and had announced his international retirement long before Nigeria won their third title in 2013.
3. Michael Essien
Essien was one of the best Ghanaian footballers of his generation and won multiple trophies at Chelsea. However, he did not win the AFCON, finishing as bronze medalists in 2008 and runners-up in 2010.
4. Asamoah Gyan
Gyan is fondly remembered as a striker who wore the jersey number three for Ghana, and his penalty miss, which denied the Black Stars the history of being the first African to reach the World Cup semi-final in 2010, a record which was later achieved by Morocco in 2022, as noted by FIFA. However, despite his exploits for Ghana, he never won the AFCON.
5. George Weah
Weah conquered the world but fell short in Africa. He won the Ballon d'Or in 1995 and won the African Best award three times. He played at AFCON 1996 and 2002, both of which Liberia was eliminated in the group stage.
Source: Getty Images
6. El Hadji Diouf
Diouf, like many Senegalese stars of the 90s and 2000s, including Aliou Cisse and the late Pape Bouba Diop, never won the African Cup of Nations. Cisse led the country to their first title in 2021, defeating Egypt in the final.
7. Mustapha Hadji
The 1998 African Footballer of the Year never won AFCON. Morocco's first and only trophy so far was in 1976. Hadji lost the 2004 final to Tunisia. The Atlas Lions defeated Nigeria in the 2025 semi-final to book a date with Senegal, as noted by CAF.
Nigeria to face Egypt
Legit.ng reported that Nigeria faces Egypt in the semi-final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations after both nations lost to Morocco and Senegal, respectively.
The two sides opened the tournament with a pre-AFCON tournament against each other in Cairo, and will close it the same way in Casablanca.
Source: Legit.ng
