Goalkeepers are essential members of any football team. Especially in close games, their prowess between the sticks is often the determining factor. Here is a list of the top six African shot stoppers of all time.
5. Vincent Enyeama-Nigeria:
With 101 caps for the Super Eagles, the former Nigerian national team captain is the country's most capped player. He debuted in 2002 and retired from the sport in 2015. He was a member of the Super Eagles, who won the 2013 African Cup of Nations and were awarded the best team of the tournament. With Enyimba, he won two CAF Champions Leagues. He joined Hapoel Tel Aviv in 2007, and in 2009 he was crowned "Player of the Year." He won the league and cup double the following season with the Israeli side.
4. Carlos Kameni - Cameroon
Prior to joining Malaga in early 2012, the Cameroonian made nearly 200 league appearances for Espanyol in La Liga. In 2017, he joined Turkish club Fernabahce after five years with Malagasy.Cameroon earned Olympic gold in football in Sydney in 2000 after he participated in all three elimination matches. In 2003, Kameni helped the Indomitable Lions finish second in the Fifa Confederations Cup in France. He has 74 Cameroonian caps and has played in the Africa Cup of Nations competitions in 2002, 2004, 2006, 2008, and 2019.
3. Joseph-Antoine Bell-Cameroon
Another great Cameroonian goalkeeper, Joseph Antoine, was born on October 8, 1954, in Cameroon, and is widely regarded as one of the best African goalkeepers of all time. Joseph Antoine Bell, widely recognized as one of the best African goalkeepers in history, has won multiple top-level medals with both his clubs and his country, Cameroon. The famed goalkeeper and his side won two African Nations Cups and the Egyptian League during their stay in Egypt. He later moved to Europe, where he played 109 league games for Olympique de Marseille, perhaps his best team
Despite playing in Cameroon's national team in the shadow of Thomas Nkono, he was a key player in the unstoppable lions side that won the 1982, 1990, and 1994 FIFA World Cups, and he was named African Goalkeeper of the Century by the IFFHS, while his opponent, Thomas Nkono, was named second. As a result, he ranks among the top African goalkeepers in soccer history.
2. Thomas N'kono-Cameroon
Thomas Nkono is a great Cameroonian goalkeeper who has played for Espagnol as well as the national team of Cameroon. Many goalkeepers, especially in Africa and Spain, have looked up to him as an example. The goalkeeper spent over a decade with the Spanish team Espagnol in the 1980s, and most fans remember him for his exceptional leadership and skills. He rose to prominence after helping Canon Yaounde win five national titles and two African Champions League trophies. Cameroon has won an African Nations Cup and the goalkeeper has 112 caps for his country.
1. Essam El Hadary-Egypt
Essam El Hadary is not just an Egyptian icon, but also a merited addition to the list of the greatest African goalkeepers of all time. Despite a string of setbacks, he has persevered in helping Al Ahly, the club that has won the most trophies of any club in history, win so many titles. While playing for Egypt's national team, he received numerous honors.
Hadary, one of the best African goalkeepers of all time, holds the record for being the oldest player to play in a FIFA World Cup, having competed against Saudi Arabia in Russia in 2018 at the age of 45 years and 161 days.
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