By Samindra Kunti
February 7 – Senegal won their first-ever Africa Cup of Nations despite Sadio Mane missing a penalty in the first minutes of the final. He later atoned for the miss delivering the winning spot-kick in a 4-2 shootout victory to wrap up a tournament that was overshadowed by the loss of eights lives at the last-16 tie involving hosts Cameroon.
The final returned to the Olembe Stadium were the tragedy had taken place. The showpiece match was billed as a contest between Liverpool stars Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah. It was however largely a contest between Egypt’s goalkeeper Gabaski and the Senegalese forwards.
Egypt once again took an economic approach, sitting deep, absorbing the pressure, lurking on the counter and when not scoring content to see out the 90 minutes and then extra time, but their strategy backfired in the penalty shoutout and they were ultimately punished for their cynical approach.
Mane took the fifth and decisive penalty to make up for his miss early on. It was an absorbing and dramatic end to what had been a forgettable final.
The Senegalese ended runners-up in 2002 and 2019 and got off to a horrible start when Egypt’s stand-in goalkeeper and hero of the penalty shootouts against both Ivory Coast and Cameroon Gabaski saved Mane’s seventh-minute penalty after Mohamed Abdelmonem’s clumsy tackle on Saliou Ciss.
The Senegalese remained on the front foot, with Ismailia Sarr proving a scourge on the left-wing. His probing crosses however were not met by his teammates in the box.
The Egyptians were happy to sit back and try and disrupt Senegal’s rhythm. In the 28th minute, there was a first glimpse of Salah with a darting run on the right. Largely a spectator, Edouard Mendy, was then forced into a fine save at his near post from a pinpoint Salah attempt.
Senegal kept building the pressure in the opening exchanges of the second half by exploiting the space in behind the full-backs as Egypt visibly tired, having played extra-time three times in the knockout phase of the competition.
Carlos Queiroz, suspended from the touchline and watching in the stands, reacted by making a triple substitution just before the hour mark, with Trezeguet and Zizo tasked to provide more attacking impetus.
It was a game on a tightrope, punctuated by lots of bookings and an Egyptian side that sought to snatch the game in the final 20 minutes. Marwan Hamdi should have scored from a free header inside the box, but his effort went wide. With no goals inside the 90 minutes, the Egyptians were into their fourth extra time of the finals and Gabaski came to the rescue after three attempts by substitute Bamba Dieng.
The top-ranked side in Africa eventually prevailed from the penalty spot. It was redemption for both Mane and Cisse who missed the deciding penalty in the 2002 final. The match was however just the first part of a trilogy because in March the two teams will square off for the next prize – a ticket to the World Cup.
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