My God… where to begin?

Look, from a phrase by Walid Regragui, the Moroccan coach: "This is not the Martyrs' Stadium".

This betrayed a certain apprehension. The valiant Senegalese opposition proved them right.

And yet, this 2025 AFCON final had started very badly for the Lions. Indeed, they were deprived of Krépin Diatta, who was ill. A real handicap, considering that the Senegalese right-back had been his team's best player since the start of the competition.

Added to this was a worrying situation concerning Ousseynou Niang, who suffered a slight illness.

Pape Thiaw therefore launched Antoine Mendy from Nice into the deep end to compensate for the absence of Krépin Diatta; Lamine Camara taking the place of Habib Diarra, who was suspended.

A FIRST SENEGALESE PERIOD

From the opening minutes of the final, Senegal reassured everyone. Clean ball control, an effective defensive block, intelligent overlapping runs.

On the Moroccan side, the only player who posed a threat was "Abde" Ezzalzouli. Naturally, Regragui had targeted Antoine Mendy's side, given the circumstances.

But the best chances fell to Senegal in the first half. First, a header from Pape Guèye from a corner was saved by the towering Yacine Bounou. And later, in the 38th minute, Ilimane Ndiaye missed a golden opportunity.

Set up beautifully by a Nicolas Jackson in top form, the Everton player saw his cross shot deflected by the tip of Bounou's foot.

At halftime, some were saying that Senegal might have missed their chance. But after the break, the Atlas Lions finally managed to shake off their lethargy.

MOROCCO REACTS

They intensified their attacks and finally managed to trouble Mendy, with El Kaabi adding to the list of frustrated players that evening. He opened his foot too much, alone in front of Mendy's goal. We were in the 58th minute of the game.

Apart from a few interesting situations, the two teams cancelled each other out… The fear of losing took precedence over the desire to win, especially on the side of the Atlas Lions, who could not imagine letting the trophy leave Morocco.

And it was the ill-fated game director, Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo, who took it upon himself to wake everyone up in the pouring rain.

90th minute. We're heading straight for extra time. A superb run by Ibrahim Mbaye, finished with a curling shot, is saved by Bounou. Morocco responds immediately through Ezzalzouli.

NDALA NGAMBO'S "MASTERPIECE"

And in the 93rd minute, Senegal wins a corner. Pape Abdoulaye Seck takes the corner and battles with Ashraf Hakimi. The two players fight fairly for the ball. Hakimi goes down, Seck's powerful header hits the post, and just as Ismaila Sarr is about to score, the referee blows his whistle… Without even letting play continue, he penalizes an alleged foul by Seck on Hakimi. VAR? What VAR?

In quick succession, the Atlas Lions earned a corner of their own. It was taken, and the action ended with a poor cross from Brahim Diaz. But the diminutive player let out a fit of rage… He harassed the referee, loudly demanding a foul by Elhadj Malick Diouf on the corner.

We then enter a completely absurd situation! Mr. Ndala Ngambo offers the Moroccans what he had refused the Senegalese 3 minutes earlier…

He consults VAR and decides, unsurprisingly, to award a penalty to the Moroccan team.

The situation is escalating. Fury is gripping the Senegalese camp. Pape Thiaw is beside himself. And he orders his players to leave the pitch…

After much discussion, two men managed to bring everyone back to their senses: Sadio Mané and Claude Leroy. The latter, like a wise old man, advised the Lions' leader to bring his teammates back.

Mané complies and, after an interminable 18 minutes, the match can resume… Finally, the (pre-planned?) execution of the Senegalese team can resume…

Brahim Diaz places the ball on the penalty spot, and by some miracle, attempts a botched "Panenka" penalty against Edouard Mendy… An absolute disaster for 38 million Moroccans who were 10 seconds away from celebrating…

That's it. Off to extra time and its inevitable uncertainties. Uncertainty that Pape Gueye promptly dispels after just 3 minutes.

LIBERATION

The incredible Sadio Mané recovers the ball from the Moroccan players' feet 40 meters from Mendy's goal.

With a backheel, he passes to Gana Gueye, who had come in support. Gueye, with a single touch, sets up Pape Gueye.

The former Marseille player resists Hakimi's return, and with a clean strike, dusts off the top corner of Yacine Bounou's goal!

1-0 to Senegal. A first for Morocco, who had never before trailed. There were 26 minutes left…

(Interesting stat: Pape Gueye's goal was Senegal's 7th shot on target in this final. Morocco had conceded...5 in their first 6 matches.) 26 minutes of struggle, selflessness, and composure. The Lions' defense was heroic, anchored by Moussa Niakhaté and the incredible Mamadou Sarr. (20 years old, no kidding!!!)

Senegal had a big scare in the 18th minute of extra time when Aguerd's header hit Mendy's crossbar!

Three minutes later, Cherif Ndiaye missed the break point, when he was alone in front of a goal deserted by Bounou… Crazy!

Minutes turned into seconds for the Moroccans and hours for the Senegalese... And at the end of the Rabat night, Mr. Ndala Ngambo brought an incredible final to a close...

It is Monday, January 19, 2026 and Senegal is, for the second time, CHAMPION OF AFRICA!