Super Eagles all-time top scorers: Yekini, Osimhen and more
Rashidi Yekini is still Nigeria's record goalscorer with 37, but Victor Osimhen is two behind. Here are the Super Eagles' leading scorers.
Last updated: 6 October 2026.
The Super Eagles’ all-time top scorers list has had the same name at the top for almost three decades. Rashidi Yekini scored 37 goals for Nigeria, and only Victor Osimhen has come close. This guide ranks the leading scorers, explains why sources sometimes disagree about the totals and looks at how near Osimhen is to the record. Figures come from ESPN, BBC Sport, Legit.ng and the national-team records on Wikipedia, and are correct as of October 2026. Where sources differ, we say so.
The short answer
- Record holder: Rashidi Yekini, with 37 goals.
- Closest challenger: Victor Osimhen, with 35. He reached that total with a goal in the 2–0 AFCON 2025 quarter-final win over Algeria.
- Third place: Segun Odegbami, credited with 22 or 23 goals depending on the source.
- Most caps: Ahmed Musa, the most capped Super Eagle, also has 16 goals.
- Why totals vary: older matches are sometimes left out, or counted differently, by different record-keepers.
The Super Eagles’ all-time top scorers
This ranking uses the figures most widely cited by major outlets and national-team records. Ties and disputed totals are explained below the list.
- Rashidi Yekini: 37 goals
- Victor Osimhen: 35 goals
- Segun Odegbami: 22–23 goals
- Yakubu Aiyegbeni: 21 goals
- Ikechukwu Uche: 19 goals
- Obafemi Martins: 18 goals
- Sunday Oyarekhua: 17 goals
- Samson Siasia, Odion Ighalo and Ahmed Musa: about 16 each (Siasia is credited with 17 in some lists)
Rashidi Yekini: the benchmark
Yekini’s 37 goals came in 62 appearances, according to the commonly cited national-team record, although at least one Nigerian outlet gives him fewer caps. He was the focal point of the side that won AFCON in 1994 and reached the World Cup round of 16 in the same year. He scored Nigeria’s first World Cup goal, against Bulgaria in Dallas on 21 June 1994.
CAF made him its African Footballer of the Year for 1993, and he ranks among one of the leading scorers in AFCON history, with 13 goals at the tournament.
Victor Osimhen: two goals from history
Osimhen first came to wide attention at the 2015 U-17 World Cup in Chile, where he won the Golden Boot with 10 goals as Nigeria took the title. He made his senior debut in June 2017. In March 2025 he passed Odegbami to move into second place on the list.
His 35th goal came in the AFCON 2025 quarter-final against Algeria, where he also set up Akor Adams. ESPN reported that afterwards he said winning the Nations Cup mattered more to him than the scoring record, and he described Yekini as Nigeria’s greatest striker. Injury kept him out of the September 2026 internationals, so he is still on 35.
His cap total is reported differently from source to source, so we have not quoted one here. On any count, he has scored at a faster rate than Yekini, needing far fewer than 62 games to reach 35.
The 1970s and 1980s stars
Segun Odegbami scored twice in the 1980 AFCON final, a 3–0 win over Algeria in Lagos. Most sources give him 22 or 23 international goals, a gap that comes down to how some matches from that era are recorded.
Sunday Oyarekhua is often left out of modern top-ten graphics, but national-team records credit him with 17 goals, which puts him ahead of several better-known names from later eras.
The 2000s strikers
Yakubu Aiyegbeni scored 21 goals in a long international career and converted a penalty against South Korea at the 2010 World Cup. Ikechukwu Uche scored 19, including two goals in Nigeria’s World Cup defeat to Greece and draw with South Korea in 2010. Obafemi Martins scored 18, and he held the record for Nigerian goals in European club competitions until Osimhen passed him in November 2025.
Ahmed Musa and Odion Ighalo
Ahmed Musa is the Super Eagles’ most capped player, with more than 110 appearances. He has 16 goals, four of them at World Cups. Two came against Argentina in 2014 and two against Iceland in 2018, which makes him Nigeria’s leading scorer at the tournament.
Odion Ighalo also scored 16 times. His five goals at AFCON 2019 made him the tournament’s top scorer, and BBC Sport reported his retirement from international football shortly after Nigeria took bronze at that tournament.
Why lists disagree
- Unofficial matches: some records count friendlies against club sides or “B” internationals, and others do not.
- Missing match reports: scorers from the 1960s and 1970s are not always fully documented.
- Different update times: lists published before a match window will be behind, which matters a lot while Osimhen is still adding goals.
FAQ
Who is the highest goal scorer in Super Eagles history?
Rashidi Yekini, with 37 goals, as of October 2026.
How many goals does Osimhen need to break Yekini’s record?
He needs two goals to draw level and three to take the record outright.
Who is Nigeria’s top scorer at World Cups?
Ahmed Musa, with four goals across the 2014 and 2018 tournaments.
What to watch
Nigeria’s next international windows are the most likely moment for Osimhen to catch Yekini, provided he is fit. We will update this list when he scores.
Related: Nigeria World Cup history: every Super Eagles appearance; African Footballer of the Year winners: full CAF list; Nigerian Grammy winners: the full history. More in our Nigerian Entertainment section.
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