Senegal were crowned champions of Africa for the first time after Sadio Mane scored the winning penalty – after missing in normal time. For Liverpool teammate Mo Salah and Egypt, it was a second straight final defeat.Senegal 0-0 Egypt (4-2 penalties)
Sadio Mane was the hero as he scored the winning penalty to give Senegal a 4-2 shootout win against Egypt in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations in Yaounde on Sunday evening.
The game ended goalless after extra time, but he Teranga Lions finally won their first title in their third appearance in the final courtesy of a penalty shootout.
The Egyptian team, who have the most AFCON final appearances (10 times), collected 6 points and scored just two goals in their three group matches, edging out Guinea-Bissau and Sudan with 1-0 scorelines after losing their tournament opener 1-0 to Nigeria.
In the knockout stage, they beat Ivory Coast 5-4 on penalties before edging out Morocco 2-1. Egypt reached the final after beating hosts Cameroon 3-1 on penalties in the semi-final.
Senegal played the AFCON final for the third time in their history and the second time in a row. They presented a solid performance throughout this tournament. The team’s coach Aliou Cisse at the helm in the 2021 and 2019 editions and was captain when Senegal lost to Cameroon in the 2002 tournament.
Senegal, too, had an ordinary performance in the group stage. Two stalemates against Guinea and Malawi followed a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe in the opener that helped them sneak through.
A 2-0 win over Cabo Verde, 3-1 scoreline against Equatorial Guinea, and another 3-1 win over Burkina Faso helped the side reach the final.
