Senegal’s players sprinted away in celebration at the full time whistle, after they stunned Morocco 1-0 in the 2025 AFCON final in Rabat. The Teranga Lions claimed a second Africa Cup of Nations title on Sunday (18 January).
“The players deserve credit. It was an objective we set for ourselves, one we wanted to achieve, especially this year,” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said after the game.
“We prepared well to come and win this trophy. We knew it was going to be difficult, and we had some tough matches, especially the final. We really suffered, but we showed character and resilience. It paid off.”
“Today was the match where I had to give everything,” Senegal star Sadio Mane added.
“There were no excuses. I told myself that this match could be my last in the AFCON. There was no tomorrow, no day after tomorrow, it was today. I had to give everything.”
The decisive moment came in the first period of extra time, when Pape Gueye collected a pass from Idrissa Gana Gueye, surged into the Moroccan area and drove a left-footed finish beyond Yassine Bounou.
Extra time followed a dramatic conclusion to regulation play. Morocco were awarded a late penalty, prompting Senegal’s players to walk off in protest before being persuaded to return. When play resumed, Brahim Díaz’s spot-kick, an audacious panenka, was saved by Édouard Mendy, sending the final into an unlikely additional 30 minutes.
Under the pouring rain, Senegal, who will host the Dakar 2026 Youth Olympics, ground out the win to secure a second continental title. They have now won two of the last three AFCON titles, having also won the title in 2022.
“We shouldn’t have reacted like that, but it’s done. We apologize to football,” Thiaw said of the decision to stage a walk off mid-game.
“After reflection, I really didn’t appreciate telling my players to leave the pitch. Sometimes, we react in the heat of the moment. We wondered if that penalty should have been given. Before that, we scored a goal that wasn’t awarded. We accept the referee’s mistakes; it can happen.”
Mane added on the incident: “Personally, I don’t think it was a penalty. But if the referee decides, you have to respect it. Everyone wanted to come off. I asked Claude Le Roy for his opinion, and he told me to stay and play. Mamadou Niang told me the same thing, as did El Hadji Diouf. So I went and asked everyone to stay. And in the end, we were rewarded.”
Morocco AFCON drought continues
As the stadium slowly emptied of disconsolate Moroccan supporters, the reality of the hosts’ long wait for a first continental title in half a century set in. That search will now roll on until at least 2027, when the Africa Cup of Nations is staged across Kenya, Tanzania and Uganda.
At the post-match press conference, a journalist asked Morocco head coach Walid Regragui when he was going to resign from his job, but the 50-year old refused to address questions around his future, instead focusing on the details of the game.
“We lost on the details. When you miss a penalty, everything turns against us,” Regragui said.
“It’s unfortunate for the Moroccan people, but we’ll come back stronger.”
