Numbers that prove Kelechi Iheanacho is the greatest FA Cup player of the modern era

Kelechi Iheanacho

TUESDAY TRIVIA Numbers that prove Kelechi Iheanacho is the greatest FA Cup player of the modern era

Tunde Young 12:34 - 11.04.2023

Tuesday Trivia is a weekly column that presents relevant sporting facts. This week's edition extols the productivity of a modern FA Cup icon.

Football fans often joke around that the most likely answer to any trivia question is 'Kelechi Iheanacho' and that is because the Nigerian international holds several records in the English game, especially in the FA Cup.

Iheanacho's exploits in the world's oldest football competition lend credence to that trope and rubber-stamps his legacy as one of the greatest FA Cup players of all time.

His second goal for Leicester City in a 2-0 win at home to Fleetwood Town on January 16, 2018, was the first-ever goal to be awarded through the use of VAR in the FA Cup and English football in general.

A year before that, on precisely April 23, 2017, Iheanacho came off the bench for Manchester City in extra time of their semi-final defeat to Arsenal, making him the first-ever fourth substitute in FA Cup history.

But beyond these random but interesting facts, here are some of the numbers that set Kelechi Iheanacho apart in the FA Cup.

Kelechi Iheanacho's FA Cup records

  • 18 - Iheanacho has scored 18 goals in 24 games FA Cup games for Manchester City and Leicester City which is the most by any African player, surpassing the previous record held by Didier Drogba who scored 12 goals in 29 games for Chelsea.
  • 18 - The aforementioned 18 goals are also the most scored by any active player in the FA Cup, one ahead of Harry Kane (17), Olivier Giroud and Romelu Lukaku (16).
  • 8 - Only eight players in the history of the FA Cup have scored more goals in the competition than Kelechi Iheanacho. Ian Rush (41), Frank Lampard (27), Alan Shearer (25), Wayne Rooney (23), Jermain Defoe (22), Sergio Aguero (20), Jackie Milburn (20) and Mark Hughes (20) are the players who have outscored Iheanacho in the FA Cup.
  • 6 - Iheanacho is tied on 18 FA Cup goals with six other players in the history of the competition, namely: John Barnes, Teddy Sheringham, Bobby Tambling, Peter Crouch, Bobby Tambling and Bobby Mitchell.
  • 8 - What is most impressive about Iheanacho's FA Cup legacy is that the 26-year-old has done all of this in just eight seasons. None of the 14 other players who have scored at least 18 goals did it in less than eight seasons. In fact, only Jermaine Beckford and Bobby Tambling did it in eight seasons like Iheanacho.
  • 1 - It would be strange to call Iheanacho the modern FA Cup GOAT without an FA Cup title to his name and thankfully, he won the trophy in 2021.

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