Eto'o equals the record of 14 goals with Ivorian striker Laurent Pokou, who scored six goals in 1968 and eight in 1970, finishing top goalscorer in both tournaments.
Eto'o's third goal of this tournament also took him level with Soufiane Alloudi of Morocco as top scorer with three goals, although two have come from the penalty spot.
His goal came in Cameroon's emphatic 5-1 win over Zambia which leaves them favourites to qualify for the quarter finals as they now have a superior goal difference over tonight's opponents.
Geremi opened the scoring with a fine free-kick in the 28th minute - one that the Zambians were evidently expecting Eto'o to take. A second came quickly when Joseph-Désiré Job - once of Middlesbrough - found himself clean through after two Zambian defenders missed headed clearances.
It was not the only defensive blunder by the Zambians, who found themselves three goals behind at half time after Achille Emana was allowed onto a stray forward ball to round goalkeeper Kennedy Mweene and tap in his first of the tournament.
Two more goals were added in the second half. Eto'o converted his penalty after 65 minutes when his free-kick was adjudged to have been blocked by the hand of Zambia's Billy Mwanza and another defensive howler gave Job another tap-in for the Indomitable Lions, who thought they had equalled the record margin of victory in the competition's history.
But Chris Katongo - whose brother Felix scored in the 3-0 win over Sudan on Tuesday - slid in to poke home a low left-wing cross in the last minute to find a well-earned consolation goal for Zambia, who had had plenty of possession and will be left ruing their calamitous defending which caused the lopsided scoreline.
Cameroon are now above Zambia on goal difference and will qualify unless they fail to beat whipping boys Sudan on Wednesday.
In the later match, Egypt all but sealed their passage into the quarter finals with a 3-0 win over Sudan. The game was surprisingly - and reassuringly - serene following yesterday's bizarre fracas between Sudanese players and Egyptian journalists in a Kumasi hotel.
Hosny Abd Rabou scored his second penalty of the tournament - like his goal against Cameroon, he had to take it twice - inside half an hour to move level with Soufiane and Eto'o in the race for the Golden Boot after he had been brought down by Sudanese goalkeeper Mahjoub El Moez.
Egypt struggled throughout, with Sudan managing to keep their star forward Mohamed Zidan, scorer of two fine goals against Cameroon, quiet. They could not, however, deny Mohamed Aboutreika. The midfield playmaker who scored the winning penalty in the shoot-out of the 2006 final against the Ivory Coast scored from close range twice in the last thirteen minutes to give the scoreline a more convincing feel.
Egypt now have a goal difference of +5, the best in the tournament and look like they have every chance of retaining their trophy.
Results
CAMEROON 5 (Geremi 28', Job 32', 82', Emana 44', Eto'o pen 66') ZAMBIA 1 (C. Katongo 90')
EGYPT 3 (Hosny pen 29', Aboutreika 78', 83') SUDAN 0
