Senegal Archives

Senegal goal hero calls AFCON final walk-off ‘a mistake’

Senegal’s Pape Gueye opened up about his team’s walk off at the Africa Cup of Nations final and Morocco’s subsequent missed penalty in an interview on French television on Sunday.

Gueye scored the winning goal In AFCON final as Senegal edged Morocco 1-0 in extra time in a controversial game in Rabat last week.

Morocco were awarded a late penalty sparking a walk-off from the eventual winners, leading to a 20-minute delay.

When Senegal came back Brahim Diaz fluffed his penalty, while Gueye scored the winner in extra-time.

“We are only human, we realised our mistake and came back out,” said the 26-year-old midfielder Gueye.

“Anyone can make a mistake,” he added.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Gueye praised former Liverpool star Sadio Mane, who remained on the pitch and urged his team-mates to return to the game for the penalty.

Senegal were already furious at having a goal disallowed for a soft-looking foul minutes earlier

“He found the right thing to say at the right moment and it shows just how important he is to us,” he said.

“We owe him a big thank you.”

Gueye also expressed surprise that Diaz dared attempt a panenka penalty that went badly wrong.

“It was daring and I would not have risked that myself,” he said.

The Moroccan Football Federation has formally referred the walkout and supporters’ behaviour to the Confederation of African Football (CAF), which organises AFCON, and FIFA.

READ: U19 World Cup: Australia ease past South Africa to stay unbeaten

Senegal stun hosts Morocco to win AFCON title

Senegal stunned Morocco in Sunday’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final as Pape Gueye’s goal gave them a 1-0 extra-time win over the hosts at the end of a match marred by disgraceful scenes following a controversial penalty award.

Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco when he stepped up to take the spot-kick in the 24th added minute at the end of normal time.

But Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy easily saved the weak attempted chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was clearly distracted by the long delay of almost 20 minutes that followed the penalty award.

Congolese match referee Jean-Jacques Ndala gave the penalty right at the end of the allotted eight added minutes following a VAR check for a challenge on Diaz in the box by Senegal defender El Hadji Malick Diouf.

Diaz, the rest of the Moroccan team and their bench vehemently protested to the referee to check the images, but the decision to eventually give the spot-kick was met with fury by Senegal and their fans.

As most of their players walked off the pitch, some Senegal supporters in the small section of away fans at the opposite end of the stadium threw chairs and other objects and attempted to get onto the field of play.

They were eventually contained by a large barrier of police and stewards, and their anger turned to delight and disbelief when the penalty was saved.

The Senegal team had initially been riled by the referee’s decision to disallow for a foul a goal they scored in the second added minute when Abdoulaye Seck headed off the post at a corner, and Ismaila Sarr nodded in the rebound.

After Diaz’s penalty miss, however, it felt almost inevitable that a galvanised Senegal would go on to score, and they did so in the fourth minute of extra time to stun the home fans in the crowd of 66,526 at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.

Sadio Mane won possession in midfield and found Idrissa Gana Gueye, who released his namesake Pape Gueye.

The Villarreal midfielder held off the backtracking Moroccan captain Achraf Hakimi as he advanced towards the box before beating goalkeeper Yassine Bounou with a superb strike into the top corner.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Morocco were distraught, in particular Diaz, who was promptly substituted.

They could still have forced a penalty shoot-out, with Nayef Aguerd heading against the crossbar in the second half of extra time.

But it was not to be for the hosts, who had been dreaming of winning the title in front of their own fans to end a 50-year wait to become African champions for just the second time.

Senegal could have been more comfortable had Cherif Ndiaye not squandered a glorious chance to make it 2-0 late in the extra period, but they held on.

It is their second Cup of Nations title in the last three editions, following their victory over Egypt on penalties in Yaounde in 2022, which secured the trophy for the first time in their history.

They can now look forward to heading to the United States for the World Cup in June, and will hope to persuade star man Mane to play at another AFCON after he declared that the final would be his last ever game at the tournament.

Any investigation into the disgraceful scenes during the game will focus on the conduct of the Senegal team and their fans, as well as any shortcomings by Moroccan organisers.

The incidents came at the end of a tense final, which had been low on goalmouth action — not exactly surprising given the defensive strength of Africa’s best teams according to the FIFA rankings.

Senegal’s Iliman Ndiaye was denied by Bounou when clean through with the best chance in the first half, while Morocco should have scored just before the hour mark, but Ayoub El Kaabi prodded wide from a Bilal El Khannouss cross.

Then came the late drama, with Senegal surviving the penalty award before Gueye became their hero, that was the first goal scored by the Lions of Teranga in an AFCON final after they had failed to find the net in any of their three previous appearances in the tournament’s deciding game.

It was an agonising way for Morocco’s campaign to end, and many of their fans had left the stadium before the final whistle on a cold and wet night in Rabat.

READ: Australia name squad for T20I tour of Pakistan

Mane aims to inspire Senegal to second title on AFCON farewell

Sadio Mane will cement his status as one of the all-time great African players if he can lead Senegal to victory against hosts Morocco in Sunday’s Cup of Nations final, a game he has said will be his farewell to the AFCON.

Former Liverpool star Mane turns 34 in April and has played over 120 times for his country, going back to a debut against Morocco shortly after his 20th birthday in 2012.

The high point of his international career came in February 2022, when he starred as the Lions of Teranga beat Egypt on penalties in the Cup of Nations final in Yaounde.

Having missed a penalty during normal time that night, he stepped up to score the decisive kick in the shoot-out and Senegal, World Cup quarter-finalists in 2002, were African champions for the first time.

A huge weight was lifted off the shoulders of the boy from a small town on the banks of the Casamance River in southern Senegal.

“Before I won the Africa Cup, sometimes I played badly because of the pressure,” Mane admitted in a recent interview for the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast as he opened up on the significance of that victory.

“People in Europe love their national team, but some people love their club more — Senegal is the opposite.

“That is why there is this big pressure, so I just had to win this. It was really important.”

There have also been plenty of lows for the two-time African footballer of the year, including the defeat in the final against Algeria in Cairo in 2019 and missing the 2022 World Cup with injury.

But he is hoping to make 2026 a memorable year by claiming a second AFCON winner’s medal before turning his attentions to the World Cup in the United States, where Senegal will be in the same group as France and Norway.

After scoring the winning goal in Wednesday’s semi-final win over Mohamed Salah’s Egypt, Mane announced that the final against Morocco in Rabat would be his last game at the Cup of Nations.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

“I hope to win and bring the trophy back to Dakar,” said the forward who has spent the last two and a half years in Saudi Arabia with Al-Nassr, where he counts Cristiano Ronaldo among his teammates.

There is a feeling that the approaching World Cup might be the swansong for a generation of Senegal players, which also includes goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, skipper Kalidou Koulibaly and midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye.

Sadio Mane spent a large chunk of his international career playing under Aliou Cisse before Pape Thiaw took over as coach in late 2024.

“Let’s hope we have many more years with him, because you don’t find a player like him every day, and we need to make the most of him,” Thiaw said of Mane after the Egypt win.

“I hope this won’t be his last final; there are other competitions coming up, so we’ll see.”

Mane has scored just twice in Morocco over the last month, his other goal coming in a group-stage draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo.

He now has 11 Cup of Nations goals in total, placing him among an elite band of players to have reached double figures.

With Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye growing in importance and Paris Saint-Germain teenager Ibrahim Mbaye emerging at this tournament, Mane must feel Senegal’s attack is in good hands going forward.

His announcement suggests that he is ready to turn his back on the next AFCON, which is set to take place in Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda next year.

If he can help deliver a second title in three editions for Senegal, confirming their status as a modern African footballing superpower, he will surely feel as though his work is done.

READ: Mondol stars as Rajshahi Warriors squeeze past Sylhet Titans

Morocco beat Nigeria on penalties to reach AFCON final

Goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was the hero with two saves in the shoot-out as hosts Morocco beat Nigeria 4-2 on penalties to set up an Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final showdown this weekend with Senegal after a tense last-four clash on Wednesday finished 0-0 at the end of extra time.

Bounou saved from Samuel Chukwueze and brilliantly from Bruno Onyemaechi, allowing Youssef En-Nesyri to convert the winning kick and spark wild celebrations among the 65,458 crowd inside the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium in Rabat.

There was joy but also relief for Hamza Igamane, who had appeared distraught after his kick, Morocco’s second in the shoot-out, was saved by Nigeria goalkeeper Stanley Nwabali.

He was the only Moroccan player to fail to score in the shoot-out; however, with captain and talisman Achraf Hakimi among those who converted their penalties.

Morocco will now play Senegal on Sunday for the title after the Lions of Teranga defeated Mohamed Salah’s Egypt 1-0 in the other semi-final earlier in Tangiers, thanks to a Sadio Mane goal, which will be a clash between the top two African sides in the FIFA world rankings.

“It was one of the hardest matches we have had against a very solid and talented team,” said Morocco coach Walid Regragui, who played in the last Atlas Lions side to reach the final when they lost to Tunisia in 2004.

“I am very happy for the players and for the Moroccan people who really deserve this.

“It is a great gift for them to be in the final, but we will need to recover quickly because we put a lot of energy into this game.”

Morocco have been under enormous pressure to deliver a first AFCON title for their country in half a century, but will be confident of coming out on top against Senegal with their support behind them.

However, as their dream remains alive, it is an agonising way for Nigeria’s hopes to end, two years after they lost the final to the hosts inthe Ivory Coast, they had been hoping to win a fourth Cup of Nations crown to match the tally of rivals Ghana.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Led by two recent winners of the African player of the year prize, Victor Osimhen and Ademola Lookman, Nigeria had been arguably the best team at the tournament up to the semi-finals and the top scorers with 14 goals.

But they created next to nothing during the 120 minutes here and must settle for Saturday’s third-place play-off against Egypt in Casablanca before watching the World Cup from afar following their failure to qualify.

“The players fought for every ball, and it is difficult to lose on penalties, but this is football, and we have to accept it,” said Nigeria coach Eric Chelle.

“It is difficult to play here in Morocco because you have to play against the team and against the crowd.”

Doubts about the Moroccan team’s ability to handle the enormous pressure of playing at home had dissipated following their win over Cameroon in the quarter-finals.

The 2022 World Cup semi-finalists had been whistled by their own fans at times during the group phase here, but this time those supporters did their bit by responding to any Nigerian spell of possession with deafening jeers.

A frenetic opening spell to the contest saw the Moroccan winger Brahim Diaz, probably the tournament’s outstanding player, curl a shot wide before Alex Iwobi teed up Lookman at the other end for a shot that was well saved.

Morocco had chances, including a free-kick from Hakimi and a shot from Ismael Saibari that was well saved by Nwabali.

However, the second half was more cagey, and the clock ran down on normal time, while the spectre of penalties grew larger as the extra half-hour progressed.

It seemed Nigeria were settling for the shoot-out, even taking off Osimhen as they hoped to repeat their win on penalties in the 2024 semi-final against South Africa.

However, Morocco had also famously won on penalties against Spain at the last World Cup, and they repeated the trick to reach the final of their Cup of Nations.

READ: ICC U19 Cricket World Cup 2026: Everything You Need to Know

Senegal outplay 10-man Mali to reach AFCON semi-finals

Recalled striker Iliman Ndiaye scored in the first half to give Senegal a 1-0 victory over 10-man Mali in Tangiers on Friday in the first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) quarter-final.

Mali’s hopes were dealt a severe blow in first-half added time when Yves Bissouma was sent off after being shown a second yellow card.

The only goal followed a blunder by Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra, who then made a string of superb saves to prevent Senegal from increasing their lead.

Senegal now faces defending champions Ivory Coast or record seven-time winners Egypt, who meet on Saturday, in the semi-finals.

Malian Lassine Sinayoko appealed for a penalty just three minutes into the first half, alleging he was fouled by Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, who was back after a one-match suspension.

However, the South African referee waved play on, and VAR confirmed his decision was correct. Big-screen replays showed Sinayoko was guilty of simulation.

Mali captain Bissouma was yellow-carded midway through the half for fouling veteran Senegal striker and twice African player of the year Sadio Mane.

Sinayoko then broke clear only to be foiled by a superb sliding tackle from fellow French Ligue 1 player Krepin Diatta.

The deadlock was broken after 27 minutes on a cold, cloudy evening in the Mediterranean city thanks to Ndiaye.

He was involved three times in a move which ended with goalkeeper Djigui Diarra allowing a Krepin Diarra cross to slip under his body, and Ndiaye struck the loose ball into the net.

While the goal was a gift, it gave Senegal a deserved lead as they had dominated possession in only the second AFCON clash between the countries. The first was drawn at the group stage in 2004.

Follow us on our Official WhatsApp channel

Pape Gueye, who scored twice for Senegal in the last-16 victory over Sudan, was just off target with a shot from outside the box.

Then, for the second successive knockout match, Mali were reduced to 10 men before half-time with Bissouma shown a second yellow card, followed by a red.

The Tottenham Hotspur midfielder fouled Idrissa Gueye in midfield and Malian pleas for the incident to be reviewed by VAR were rejected.

Mali displayed tremendous spirit when reduced to 10 men against Tunisia in the round of 16, and it was evident again against the Senegalese as the second half progressed.

They came close to levelling on 55 minutes when defender Abdoulaye Diaby advanced for a free-kick. His close-range shot brought a reflex save from former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Diarra atoned for his first-half blunder by making several superb saves to keep alive Malian dreams of winning a maiden AFCON title.

With 15 minutes of regular time remaining, scorer Ndiaye was substituted. In his place came 17-year-old Paris Saint-Germain forward Ibrahim Mbaye, whose goal sealed victory over Sudan.

Diarra rescued Mali again as time ticked away, blocking a shot from substitute Pathe Ciss, who had broken clear.

The Malian goalkeeper made another outstanding save during seven minutes of added time by pushing away a Lamine Camara volley.

READ: Liam Rosenior aims to take Chelsea to ‘next level’

Senegal’s Sadio Mane ruled out of Qatar World Cup with leg injury

DOHA: Senegal star Sadio Mane has been ruled out of FIFA World Cup 2022 after a knee injury he sustained in a Bayern Munich match last week.

The Bayern forward was diagnosed with an injury to his right fibula after he limped off during a Bundesliga match against Werder Bremen, 13 days before his national team’s Qatar campaign.

Mane will miss out on the World Cup since he has not recovered in time before the megaevent, confirmed Senegal’s team doctor on Thursday

“Unfortunately, today’s [Thursday] MRI shows us that the improvement is not as favourable as we imagined and unfortunately, we have to withdraw Sadio from the World Cup,” said Manuel Afonso in a video posted on the official Senegal Twitter account. He added that surgical intervention was needed.

The former Liverpool forward’s phenomenal run this year earned him the runners-up spot in the 2022 Ballon d’Or – bagged by Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.

Mane, 30, was named African Player of the Year as he was voted ahead of ex-teammate Mohamed Salah and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.

Senegal will face host Qatar four days after its opening game against the Netherlands. Its final game in Group A is against Ecuador on November 29.

The absence of its talisman will be a fatal blow for Senegal, as Mane inspired his national side to the African Cup of Nations title at the start of 2022, scoring the winning penalty in a shoot-out with Egypt.

READ: Nadal leaves ATP Finals with consolation win over Ruud