Sadio Mane was named player of the tournament after inspiring his country, Senegal to the country’s first ever Africa Cup of Nations glory at the Olembe Stadium in Cameroon.
The 33rd edition of the African Cup of Nations held in Cameroon ended on Sunday night with a dramatic final between seven times champions Egypt and then two times finalists Senegal, which saw The Lions of Teranga lay their fingers on their first ever AFCON trophy after beating the Pharaohs.
The 29-year old Liverpool winger fired home the winning spot-kick to power his country to a 4-2 shootout victory over Mohamed Salah’s Egypt after Sunday’s final had finished goalless after extra time.
Mane beat his Liverpool teammate Mohammed Salah to the AFCON trophy after leading the charges to seal victory for his nation. The Senegal talisman was outstanding throughout the competition in Cameroon, where he scored three goals with two assists to lead Senegal to glory. His efforts were recognised and was adjudged the Most Valuable Player of the tournament.
Despite missing an all important penalty kick in the first of the game, just seven minutes into the game, Mane kept his composure and stepped up to take the decisive penalty kick to seal victory for Senegal for the first time in 60 years of wait after losing two finals in 2002 and 2019. Senegal’s head coach Aliou Cisse was also adjudged best coach of the tournament. Chelsea’s goalkeeper Edouard Mendy also was named best goalkeeper of the tournament, with Cameroon captain Vincent Aboubakar finishing as top scorer with 8 goals.
