Penalty thriller in the Africa Cup final: Despite a missed shot by Bayern professional Sarr - Senegal triumphed
Created: 2022-02-06 22:51
By: Andreas Schmid
Africa Cup of Nations final in Cameroon: Egypt's Mohamed Salah (l) and Senegal's Abdou Diallo fight for the ball. © Hassan Mohamed/dpa
Senegal is champion of Africa for the first time.
In the final against Egypt, the decision had to be made on penalties.
Yaoundé - The new Africa Cup winner is Senegal.
In the 33rd final of the tournament, this time in Cameroon, the West Africans defeated Egypt on penalties.
Senegal – Egypt: Africa Cup final starts furiously – Mané misses a penalty
Already after four minutes there was the first excitement.
Egypt defender Abdelmonem knocked Senegal's Ciss off his feet in the penalty area with a lot of motivation.
The result: penalty.
Superstar Sadio Mané took responsibility and punched the ball centrally towards the box.
Egypt keeper Gabaski raised his paws and saved his team from going behind.
Interesting: Before the penalty, Gabaski got advice from Mohamed Salah, Mané's congenial partner at Liverpool FC.
First-hand tips: Mo Salah tried to prepare his keeper for team-mate Sadio Mané's penalty - with success.
© CHARLY TRIBALLEAU / AFP
As a result, the game flattened out significantly.
Slightly favored Senegal controlled the game but hardly managed to score any significant goals.
The best chance after the penalty was a one-on-one action by Mo Salah, who forced a good save from Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy (43').
On the pitch of the Olembe Stadium in Cameroon's capital Yaoundé, there were a number of professionals who are under contract with top European teams.
Senegal started with Edouard Mendy (Chelsea*), Bouna Sarr (FC Bayern*), Kalidou Koulibaly (Naples*), Abdou Diallo, Idrissa Gueye (both Paris*) and superstar Sadio Mané.
Mohamad Salah started on the other side.
Stuttgart's Omar Marmoush was also used from the start.
Lineup Senegal: | E Mendy - Sarr, Koulibaly, Diallo, Ciss - Kouyaté (66th P. Gueye), N Mendy, I Gueye - Sarr (77th Dia), Diedhiou (77th Dieng), Mané |
|---|---|
Lineup Egypt: | Gabaski - Ashour, Abdelmonem, Hamdy, Fatouh - Fathi (Lasheen 99), Elneny, Al-Sulaya (Trezeguet 59) - Salah, M. Mohamed (Hamdi 59), Marmoush (Zizo 59) |
Senegal - Egypt: Africa Cup of Nations final goes into overtime
The Senegalese were the much more active team in the second half as well.
You could tell that the team coached by ex-national player Aliou Cissé wanted to bring the long-awaited first title to West Africa.
The “Lions of the Teranga” have never won the Africa Cup before, but they have probably never been as strong as they are now.
Incidentally, Egypt is the record holder with seven tournament wins (ahead of Cameroon/five).
The final wasn't really spectacular in the second 45 minutes either.
Promising opportunities remained scarce.
Gabaski parried strongly against Mané (53'), on the other side the pale pharaohs from Egypt only had a half chance through a standard situation (69').
Because it was still 0-0 after 90 minutes, extra time had to make the decision.
For Egypt, by the way, the fourth in a row, after the round of 16, quarter-finals and semi-finals were not decided after 90 minutes.
Africa Cup of Nations final: Thrilling extra time ends goalless - penalty thriller decides
Senegal started the extra time with more pressure.
Less than 40 seconds had been played before Gabaski, the best Egyptian on the pitch, had to make another strong save.
When Dieng shot low from the penalty area, the actual reserve goalkeeper reacted quickly.
The same applies to Dieng's treacherous bounce (100') or his flutter ball from a distance (116').
On the other side, Egypt's Hamdy almost provided the flattering lucky punch, but Mendy parried the robust but central shot from the edge of the box (117th).
It remained 0-0, ergo: penalty shootout.
Egypt's third in this tournament overshadowed by Corona and conflict.
The penalty shootout developed into a thriller.
First Egypt's second shooter Abdelmonem put the ball on the inside of the post, then Pharaoh's keeper Gabaski saved Bayern professional Bouna Sarr's penalty - not placed enough.
But because Egypt's Lasheen also missed, Senegal's Mané was able to secure the title.
Unlike regular time, the superstar stayed cool and resolutely welded in the bottom left.
Final decided!
His team shot Mané to the first Africa Cup of Nations title in history.
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