Senegal AFCON: The Lions of Teranga finally had their moment as Senegal lifted their maiden AFCON title defeating Egypt 4-2 on penalties.
Sadio Mane smashed home the winning penalty to make amends for his miss earlier in the game as he and Senegal celebrated into the night.
This was their maiden AFCON title win after they missed out 3 years ago, when they came runners-up against Algeria.
Maiden AFCON title
Kalidou Koulibaly created history as he and his team-mates lifted the Africa Cup of Nations title for the very first time.
The captain was the first to strike home his penalty and set the tone for his team.
He oversaw his goal-keeper, Edouard Mendy make a stunning save of Mohanad Lasheen to give Senegal the advantage in the penalty shootout.
Let’s hear it for Aliou Cisse đŸ‡¸đŸ‡³
đŸ”¹Missed his penalty in the 2002 final shootout.
đŸ”¹Lost to Algeria in the 2019 final.
đŸ”¹First manager to bring the Africa Cup of Nations trophy back to Senegal.
Redemption. pic.twitter.com/msBouebfi2
— GOAL (@goal) February 7, 2022
It was also the moment of Redemption for Senegal coach, Aliou Cisse; who was a part of the 2002 and 2019 finals. So much so, that he missed his penalty in the 2002 final shootout vs Cameroon.
From there to being the first manager to bring the AFCON title to Senegal, he indeed came a long way.
Senegal’s AFCON 2022 Journey
The Lions of Teranga started off their campaign with a 1-0 win over Zimbabwe as Sadio Mane scored late in extra time to secure the points.
Sadio ManĂ©’s winner for #TeamSenegal vs. Zimbabwe at #AFCON2021 was the latest match-winning goal (and latest overall) in normal time of an AFCON tournament since Bruno Zita MbanangoyĂ©’s goal (96:55) to win the game for Gabon vs. Morocco in 2012 (3-2).
Drama. pic.twitter.com/DFttQqiwzH
— The Analyst (@OptaAnalyst) January 10, 2022
This was followed by successive goalless draws against Guinea and Malawi. Senegal managed to finish as table toppers with 5 points from 3 matches.
However, this was just the start needed as Senegal went past Cape Verde 2-0 in the Round of 16 with Mané and Dieng finding the net.
Successive 3-1 wins over Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso in the Q/F and S/F matches saw them through to their 2nd AFCON Final ever.
Koulibaly, Diallo, Dieng and Mané scored in the penalty shootout of the finals to create history for the African nation.
Top Performers- Senegal
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Sadio Mané and Ahmadou Dieng scored 3 and 2 goals respectively and were the country’s highest scorers in the tournament.
Mendy registered the most clean-sheets in the tournament, 3 and has now won his 4th club and country title in the last 2 years.
He has now won the UCL, UEFA Super Cup, FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper of the Year and the AFCON title.
It has been a story in itself for a number of the Senegal players as they created history in Cameroon last night.
Mané ended up with 2 assists as well making this officially his tournament with a handful of quality performances.
