Senegal are African Cup of Nations champions for the first time after beating Egypt in the final at the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé on Sunday night.
Nothing could separate the two sides in both normal and extra-time in an admittedly dreary finale to an otherwise fantastic tournament, but Sadio Mane delivered his nation a monumental win from the spot in the shootout, making amends for an earlier miss. Senegal had previously lost two AFCON finals, finishing runners-up in 2002 and 2019.
The Liverpool forward had seen a seventh-minute penalty saved, but held his nerve when he stepped up again, whipping in the decisive pen and sparking jubilation and tears of joy among his teammates.
The first-half penalty came following a late slide on Saliou Ciss by Mohamed Abdelmonem. However, Egyptian goalkeeper Gabaski, who also saved two penalties in the semi-final, was the Pharaohs’ saviour once again, beating away Mane’s effort.
The battle between club teammates Mane and Mo Salah has been one of the most talked about storylines surrounding the 2022 final and the Egypt ace had a word with Gabaski prior to Mane’s spotkick. Some key advice, perhaps?
Salah also had a few chances of his own in an underwhelming first-half. On the half hour mark, a wonderful twisting and turning drive into the penalty area left the Senagalese defence in disarray. Fortunately for the Lions, Salah’s shot was too tame to trouble Edouard Mendy. The Chelsea goalkeeper then pulled off a fine save to deny Salah again, who’d gotten the better of Abdou Diallo.
Both sides had further chances to break the deadlock in the second-half. Senegal’s best opportunity came when Ismael Sarr put in a low cross into the six-yard box from the right, but Famara Diedhiou failed to turn it home. The ball then nearly landed at the feet of Mane, but Gabaski was able to get there first.
Mahmoud Hamdy should really have had Egypt in front when Mendy fluffed his lines going in for a cross, but the defender couldn’t direct his header on target.
Gabaski, who reluctantly picked up the Man of the Match award, made some more big saves for Egypt in extra-time. The 33-year-old, who plys his trade at Egyptian Premier League club Zamalek and didn’t play in any of the group stage games, made three great saves to deny Bamba Dienga, while at the other end, Mendy was called into action to keep another Hamdy effort at bay.
The long-awaited trophy lift - with ALL of the Senegal squad! 🏆
Senegal are #AFCON2021 champions! 🇸🇳
In the shootout, Egypt’s Mohamed Abdelmonem saw his penalty hit the left post and ricochet away, before Gabaski denied Bouna Sarr. Mohanad Lasheen was next to miss for Egypt, before Mane’s emphatic finish sealed things. Bizarrely, Salah was the fifth-choice penalty taker for Egypt, and missed out entirely.
The two sides will meet next month in a two-legged play-off for a spot at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar this winter.
