Villarreal CF midfieler Pape Gueye was the toast of the evening in Rabat with an extra-time strike that inspired Senegal to reclaim the AFCON title following a 1-0 victory over hosts Morocco in the final at Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium on Sunday.
It was a confrontation between Lions and the hosts suffered a huge upset after being denied an opportunity to be crowned African champions for the first time in 50 years. Going into the contest, both teams had one AFCON title each, but the Teranga Lions came out the best, bagging a second crown following their maiden continental triumph in 2021.
For a second-successive match, the Atlas Lions failed to win in regulation time after their penalty shootout victory over Nigeria in the semi-finals. Sunday’s result was Senegal’s fifth straight win in this tournament edition, although they had to be dragged into extra time. Sweetening the outcome for the West Africans, they handed Morocco their first defeat in a competitive match at home since 2009.
Interestingly, it was a battle between top-ranked teams on the continent, with Morocco being first while the Teranga Lions are listed as the second-best team in Africa.
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw had to bring in centre-back Mamadou Sarr to step in for suspended captain Kalidou Koulibaly. Monaco midfielder Krepin Diatta was also missing for the West Africans due to illness.
The hosts were missing the services of skipper Romain Saiss and midfielder Azzedine Ounahi who were both injured.
SENEGAL & MOROCCO FAIL TO SEPARATE EACH OTHER IN REGULATION TIME
With just six minutes into the match, Morocco goalkeeper Yassine Bounou was called in to make a crucial save off Gueye’s header from an acute angle as Senegal threatened in the early stages.
At the other end of the pitch, Ismael Saibari attempted from inside the box, but his shot went just wide. The PSV midfielder was back again in the 20th minute but found Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy unyielding in a face-to-face situation.
Bounou was called back into action with eight minutes before the halftime break, coming one-on-one with Everton midfielder Iliman Ndiaye, but came out better from the challenge with a key block using his legs.
Goals were difficult to come by for both sides and Ayoub El Kaaabi missed what could have been the most glorious chance so far of the match 12 minutes after the restart. The Morocco striker’s effort went wide with just Mendy to beat.
Shortly after, El Kaabi was back to have his shot blocked while Abde Ezzalzouli’s follow-up went wide. But action in the last 15, with the two teams barely seriously testing each other, suggested they had resigned to go to extra time.
DRAMATIC SCENES AS CONTEST REACHES EXTRA TIME
Bounou returned to deny Senegal’s 17-year-old substitute Ibrahim Mbaye of Paris Saint-Germain right at the death. The Teranga Lions then thought they had got a breakthrough, but Ismaila Sarr’s goal was ruled out after Abdoulaye Seck was adjudged to have fouled Achraf Hakimi in the build-up to the goal.
Deep into stoppage time, Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala ruled that El Hadji Malick Diouf had fouled Brahim Diaz inside the box to hand a penalty kick to the hosts. Drama followed with Senegal players marching off the pitch in protest to Ndala’s decision.
Sadio Mane lobbied for his teammates to return, but the Teranga Lions appeared divided before they finally trooped back onto the pitch. Real Madris striker Brahim Diaz stepped up and shot straight at Mendy to throw the contest into extra time.
As both teams were trying to warm up to the demands of extra time four minutes into that period, Gueye beat Bounou with a powerful strike to separate the two sides. Youssef En-Nesyri then headed just wide as Morocco pressed for an equaliser.
Cherif Ndiaye had a chance to hand Senegal a comfortable lead 110 minutes, but strangely shot wide while facing a yawning goal.
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