The Top Goalscorers Of 2023, Shalulile 2nd Worldwide

After three months of football action in 2023, only Manchester United striker Marcus Rashford has scored more goals for club and country than Mamelodi Sundowns’ striker Peter Shalulile.

Shalulile, 29, only returned on 10 January from the injury that kept him sidelined for large parts of the first half of the season but has been in red-hot form since.

The Masandawana forward has already netted five times in the DStv Premiership, as many times in two Nedbank Cup fixtures and three times in the CAF Champions League – including his brace in the 5-2 thrashing of record champions Al Ahly.

In addition, Shalulile also scored twice over two fixtures against Cameroon on international duty during the recent international break to take his overall tally for 2023 to an incredible 15 goals.

To date, only Rashford has scored more with 16 – eight in the Premier League, five across FA Cup and League Cup and three in the UEFA Europa League.

Shalulile, who spoke to Lorenz Kohler for an exclusive feature in the current edition of the iDiski Times newspaper, is level in second place with none other than Erling Haaland and Victor Osimhen but if he would find the back of the net against Cape Town City on Tuesday. night, he would draw level with Rashford, while a brace would make him the leading goalscorer of 2023 worldwide.

What makes Shalulile’s record even more impressive is the fact that he’s the only player based in Africa among the top 30, as listed by the International Federation of Football Statistics and History (IFFHS).

Cristiano Ronaldo and Kylian Mbappe follow further down the ranking, with both currently sitting on 13 goals for club and country.

Below are the top 8, as listed by IFFHS:

1. Marcus Rashford (Manchester United) – 16 goals*
2. Peter Shalulile (Mamelodi Sundowns) – 15 goals
3. Erling Haaland (Manchester City) – 15 goals
4. Victor Osimhen (Napoli) – 15 goals
5. Jonathan David (Lille) – 14 goals
6. Enner Valencia (Fenerbahce) – 14 goals
7. German Cano (Fluminense) – 14 goals
8. Lele (Volta Redondo) – 14 goals

*All goals at top senior level are counted: top national leagues, national cups, official international club tournaments and official national teams games. Period 1 January to 31 March.