The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, known as the TotalEnergies 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, has concluded with Senegal winning the crown of Champions of Africa, defeating Egypt at the Final through penalty kick out. With that said, Senegal’s President Macky Sall has declared Monday, February 7 as a public holiday to celebrate the national football team’s first-ever African Cup of Nations crown.
Led by their star Sadio Mané, Senegal overcame Mohamed Salah’s Egypt 4-2 in a penalty shoot-out that gave them their first-ever AFCON trophy. This victory was well deserved, with Senegal overpowering Egypt throughout the entire game. The Pharaohs had to thank their amazing goalkeeper Gabaski for keeping them alive during the game, coming up with some outstanding saves that won him the "Man of the Match" trophy at the end.
Senegal missed a lot of opportunities that could have ended Egypt during regulation times, with Sadio Mané missing a penalty shot 5 minutes after the game kickoff. Egypt could barely hold an attack together, as Senegal ensured that the Egyptian star Mohamed Salah was taken out of the equation by guarding him at every touch and every move with more than one player.
The scoreless game ended up going to a penalty shootout, which gave Mané the opportunity to redeem himself by scoring the final goal that ended Egypt's dream, leaving Mo Salah and the rest of Egypt's team in tears. No excuses, just a good old football match.
A CHANCE FOR REVENGE?
The Football Gods have a great sense of humor: Egypt and Senegal are bound to play each other again in the very near future, with an even bigger stake for the winner; a chance to represent Africa at the upcoming Qatar World Cup in November 2022, which will only have 5 African countries represented at the event. Yes, Egypt will have a chance to redeem themselves by playing Senegal in a home and away format (2 games) that will be played in each team's home country. All we have to say is that blood has been drawn, and we are in for an amazing football match in March between these two teams. Senegal can confirm their superiority, while Egypt can explain their current defeat if they win the golden ticket to Qatar. Either way, I'm happy to know that one of those two teams will be representing Africa on the WorldCup stage.
