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2021 Africa Cup of Nations final

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2021 Africa Cup of Nations Final
The Olembe Stadium hosted the final
Event2021 Africa Cup of Nations
Senegal Egypt
0 0
After extra time
Senegal won 4–2 on penalties
Date6 February 2022 (2022-02-06)
VenueOlembe Stadium, Yaoundé
Man of the MatchMohamed Abou Gabal (Egypt)[1]
RefereeVictor Gomes (South Africa)
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The 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Final was a football match that determined the winner of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, the international men's football championship of Africa, organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF). The match was held at the Olembe Stadium in Yaoundé, Cameroon, on 6 February 2022 and played between Senegal and Egypt.[2][3]Senegal reached the final by finishing at the top of their group with 5 points. They went on to beat Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso in the quarter-final and semi-final respectively. Egypt finished second in Group D behind Nigeria. They defeated Morocco in the quarter-finals, and then knocked out hosts Cameroon on penalties.

There was no goals scored in the first 90 minutes of the match, and extra-time was goalless as well. The best chance of the game was a penalty taken by Sadio Mané, which was saved by Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal in the seventh minute. Neither team had much clear-cut chances. With the score level, the match went to a penalty shoot-out. Kalidou Koulibaly and Ahmed Sayed both scored for their country, making the score 1-1 after each team took their first penalty. After Abdou Diallo scored for Senegal, Mohamed Abdelmonem's penalty hit the post, meaning Senegal now had a 2-1 advantage. However, after Gabal saved a penalty from Senegal's Bouna Sarr, and Marwan Hamdy scored his, the two teams were deadlocked again. Bamba Dieng scored the next penalty, and Édouard Mendy made a decisive save from Egypt's next penalty taker, Mohanad Lasheen. Mane, who missed an earlier penalty, decided the match when he scored past Gabal to give Senegal the title.

The victory meant that Senegal had won their first Africa Cup of Nations ever, after previously losing in the final twice, in 2002 and 2019. After the match, Sky Sports' Janine Anthony said about Senegal, "They were the better team...it is Senegal's night."[4] Mohamed Abou Gabal of Egypt was named man of the match, despite not being able to get the victory for his team. Senegal returned home and took part in a victory parade that took place in the capital, Dakar. It ended up becoming the biggest party in the country's history.[5]

Background

The Africa Cup of Nations, organised by the Confederation of African Football (CAF), is the primary international association football competition for African national teams. The 2021 tournament was the 33rd edition since its inauguration in 1957. The hosts were Cameroon, who were originally awarded the rights to host the 2019 tournament. However, because of delays in construction of stadiums and other necessary infrastructure, CAF stripped Cameroon from hosting the 2019 tournament[6] and it was relocated to Egypt. CAF President Ahmad Ahmad later said that Cameroon had agreed to host the 2021 tournament instead.[7] For the second time in the tournament's history, it consisted of twenty-four teams who had qualified for the event, with hosts Cameroon participating in qualifiers despite qualifying automatically; the teams were then divided into six round-robin groups consisting of four teams. The two top teams from each group, and the four best third-placed teams advanced to a knock-out phase.

Egypt appeared in their 25th tournament, and their 10th final. They had previously won seven (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010) and lost two (1962 against Ethiopia,[8][9] 2017 against Cameroon). With this final, Egypt surpassed Ghana in number of final appearances.[8]

Senegal appeared in their 16th tournament, and their third final. They had lost in both of their previous finals appearances (2002 against Cameroon and 2019 against Algeria). Senegal reached their second consecutive final, the first since Egypt's three consecutive finals and titles in 2006, 2008, and 2010. This was the two teams' first meeting in the final.

At the start of the tournament, Senegal were topping the FIFA World Rankings among African nations (20th in the world), while Egypt were 6th (45th in the world).[10]

Route to the final

Further information: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations
Senegal Round Egypt
Opponents Result Group stage Opponents Result
 Zimbabwe 1–0 Match 1  Nigeria 0–1
 Guinea 0–0 Match 2  Guinea-Bissau 1–0
 Malawi 0–0 Match 3  Sudan 1–0
Group B winners
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Senegal 3 5
2  Guinea 3 4
3  Malawi 3 4
4  Zimbabwe 3 3
Source: CAF
 Final standings Group D runners-up
Pos Team
 Pld Pts
1  Nigeria 3 9
2  Egypt 3 6
3  Sudan 3 1
4  Guinea-Bissau 3 1
Source: CAF
Opponents Result Knockout stage Opponents Result
 Cape Verde 2–0 Round of 16  Ivory Coast 0–0 (a.e.t.) (5–4 p)
 Equatorial Guinea 3–1 Quarter-finals  Morocco 2–1 (a.e.t.)
 Burkina Faso 3–1 Semi-finals  Cameroon 0–0 (a.e.t.) (3–1 p)

Egypt

Egypt was placed in Group D of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, alongside Nigeria, Sudan and Guinea-Bissau. In the opening match of the group on 11 January 2022, Egypt lost to Nigeria, with the sole goal of the match coming from Kelechi Iheanacho.[11] However, the Pharaohs came back quickly four days later with a 1–0 win to Guinea-Bissau, thanks to a goal from Mohamed Salah; this match was controversial as it saw a late Bissau-Guinean equalizer disallowed by VAR.[12] Another 1-0 win against Sudan, courtesy of a Mohamed Abdelmonem goal, saw Egypt, and secure the second place of their group with six points, behind Nigeria which became the only team of the competition to win all three group matches.[13]

On 26 January, they met Ivory Coast in the round of 16, who topped their group and defeated reigning champions Algeria in their last group game.[14] A goalless match saw both teams advance to a penalty shootout; as Eric Bailly kicked his team's third spot-kick he saw it saved by substitute goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal (Gabaski), who came on as a replacement for Mohamed El Shenawy in the 88th minute;[15] Salah converted the decisive spot-kick to qualify his team for the quarter-finals.[16] They then met Morocco. Sofiane Boufal converted an early penalty to give Morocco the advantage, but Salah scored the equalizing goal. Egypt eventually won after extra time, as Salah assisted a decisive goal by Trézéguet in the 100th minute.[17] In the semi-finals, Egypt beat hosts and five-time champions Cameroon on penalties after a goalless draw; during the penalty shoot-out, Cameroon missed three of their four spot-kicks, including the decisive penalty taken by Clinton N’Jie.[18] This victory meant Egypt reached their 10th Africa Cup of Nations final and were the first ever team to win three consecutive knockout matches in the competition after extra time.

Senegal

Senegal was placed in Group B of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, alongside Guinea, Malawi and Zimbabwe. Senegal won their first group match with a last-minute penalty converted by team captain Sadio Mané.[19] However, they drew to both Guinea and Malawi in their next two group matches without scoring any goals. Despite this, they still finished first in their group;[20] with only one goal scored in three matches, they achieved the worst goalscoring record of all teams qualified to the round of 16, scoring even less than the eliminated Zimbabwe, who scored three goals.[21]

On 25 January in the round of 16, they met one of the best third-placed teams in Cape Verde. During this match, Patrick Andrade and goalkeeper Vozinha from Cape Verde were sent off in the 21st and 57th minute respectively; as such, outfield player Garry Rodrigues had to be substituted by Márcio Rosa two minutes late. Goals by Mané and Bamba Dieng secured Senegal's qualification to the quarter-finals.[22] Five days later, they comfortably beat Equatorial Guinea 3–1 thanks to goals from Famara Diédhiou and substitutes Cheikhou Kouyaté and Ismaïla Sarr.[23] They met Burkina Faso in the semi-finals. During the match, two penalties for Senegal in the first half were denied by VAR. They nonetheless defeated the Stallions by the same score to reach their second consecutive Africa Cup of Nations final.[24]

Pre-match

South African referee Victor Gomes officiated the final match. This tournament was his second time officiating, having also involved in the 2019 edition.[25] He officiated two group stage matches and a quarter-final clash between Senegal and Equatorial Guinea.[26] He was the first South African to referee the final of Africa Cup of Nations.[27]

Gomes was accompanied by compatriot Zakhele Siwela and Souru Phatsoane of nearby Lesotho as assistant referees.[27] Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo and Olivier Safari from the Democratic Republic of the Congo were on duty as the fourth official and reserve assistant referee respectively.[28][29] Adil Zourak of Morocco served as the video assistant referee.[26]

Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz was banned from the bench after being dismissed in the semi-finals. Assistant coach Diaa El-Sayed led the team.[30]

A minute's silence was held before kick-off in memory of Rayan Oram, a five-year-old boy from Morocco who had died the day prior to the game after being trapped down a well for four days.[31]

Match

Match selection

Senegal played an almost unchanged team to their starting line-up against Burkina Faso in the semi-finals, the only change was Ismaïla Sarr who started in place of Bamba Dieng. Egypt also made one change compared to the semi-final line-up against Cameroon, with Emam Ashour started at right-back instead of Omar Kamal who was suspended after receiving two yellow cards in the knockout stage.[32]

First half

The first clear-cut chance came in the fifth minute, when Senegal were awarded a penalty when Mohamed Abdelmonem fouled Saliou Ciss in the penalty area. Abdelmonem picked the first yellow card of the game in the process. However, the penalty from Sadio Mané was saved by Mohamed Abou Gabal diving to his right.[33] Egypt's first chance came when Mohamed Salah swung in a free-kick towards Marwan Hamdy, but it was caught by Senegalese goalkeeper Édouard Mendy.[33]Senegal dominated the first half by playing mainly down the wings, aiming crosses towards their forwards, but none resulted in a goal. Another chance fell to Salah, when he evaded the Senegal defenders and dribbled into the box, but he scuffed his shot, making it an easy save for Mendy.[33]

Senegal got an indirect free kick of their own in the 39th minute. Famara Diédhiou flicked Ismaïla Sarr's cross towards goal, but it was easily saved by Gabal.[33] Egypt's strategy was to frequently time-waste and attempt the long ball, allowing Senegal to have the majority of the possession.[33] The game was also a very physical one and multiple players received yellow cards, including Abdelmonem, Nampalys Mendy, Hamdy Fathy, and Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly. The first half ended with a score line of 0-0. Will Unwin of The Guardian commented, "Senegal look like a decent football team, while Egypt do not."[33]

Second half

Senegal received a free-kick after Mane was brought down at the edge of the box. Idrissa Gueye's effort however, went wide and over the bar.[33][34]Senegal continued their focus on wing play, but failed to convert most of their crosses. One of them came from left-back Saliou Ciss, which was aimed at Diedhou, who couldn't take the chance.[33][34] Both sides also kept constantly fouling.[33]Egypt's best chance of the game thus far came when Zizo curled a free kick into the box, which was met by Abdelmonem, whose effort went over the bar.[34]Egypt's attacking play improved in the second half, with another chance coming when a Trézéguet cross was flicked wide by Hamdy Fathy.[33]Egypt later won a corner, but it was easily cleared by the Senegalese defense. Egypt stalled the last 5 minutes of regular time and heading into extra time, the two sides were still level at 0-0.[35]

Extra time

Senegal had the first opportunity of extra time, with a Mané cross finding Bamba Dieng, who's attempt was saved by Gabal. In the 100th minute, Trezeguet received the ball 14 yards away from goal, but had his shot saved by Edouard Mendy. Senegal had another opportunity to score the game's first goal from a corner, but Abdou Diallo's header sailed wide.[33] With Egypt sitting back and playing conservatively, they allowed Senegal most of the chances in the extra time period. In the 115th minute, a long-range effort from Dieng was parried away by Gabal. Two minutes later, Hamdy's shot from 16 yards out was tipped over the bar by Edouard Mendy. The resulting corner was dealt with by Senegal[35], and extra time ended still goalless, meaning the final had to be decided by a penalty shootout.

Penalty shootout

Senegal's captain Kalidou Kouliably was up first in the penalty shootout, and scored. Egyptian goalkeeper Gabal went the right way, but couldn't keep it out.[33] Zizo smashed his penalty down the middle for Egypt to keep the score level. After Diallo converted his spot-kick just beyond Gabal, it was Abdelmonem next, who conceded the earlier penalty in the 5th minute. He sent Mendy the wrong way, but his shot went off the post, making it a 2-1 advantage in Senegal's favor. Bouna Sarr's penalty was saved by Gabal, after he decided to go left. After the substitute Hamdy slotted away the next penalty for Egypt, the two teams were level again at 2-2.[35][34] Bouna Dieng scored the next penalty for Senegal, smashing it into the roof of the net. The next penalty taker was Mohanad Lasheen. Mendy dived right and decisively saved the penalty, meaning Senegal needed to score the next penalty to win. Sadio Mané, who missed the earlier penalty in the match, stepped up and scored past Gabal, giving Senegal both the 4-2 shootout victory and their first ever AFCON title.[33]

Senegal 0–0 (a.e.t.) Egypt
Report
Penalties
 4–2
Senegal
Egypt
GK 16 Édouard Mendy
RB 20 Bouna Sarr
CB 3 Kalidou Koulibaly (c) Yellow card 44'
CB 22 Abdou Diallo Yellow card 54'
LB 2 Saliou Ciss
CM 8 Cheikhou Kouyaté downward-facing red arrow 66'
CM 6 Nampalys Mendy Yellow card 17'
CM 5 Idrissa Gueye
RW 18 Ismaïla Sarr downward-facing red arrow 77'
LW 10 Sadio Mané Yellow card 88'
CF 19 Famara Diédhiou downward-facing red arrow 77'
Substitutions:
FW 26 Pape Gueye upward-facing green arrow 66'
FW 9 Boulaye Dia upward-facing green arrow 77'
FW 15 Bamba Dieng upward-facing green arrow 77'
Coach:
Senegal Aliou Cissé
GK 16 Mohamed Abou Gabal
RB 8 Emam Ashour
CB 2 Mohamed Abdelmonem Yellow card 5'
CB 15 Mahmoud Hamdy
LB 13 Ahmed Abou El Fotouh
CM 5 Hamdy Fathy Yellow card 37' downward-facing red arrow 99'
CM 17 Mohamed Elneny
CM 4 Amr El Solia downward-facing red arrow 59'
RW 10 Mohamed Salah (c)
LW 22 Omar Marmoush downward-facing red arrow 59'
CF 14 Mostafa Mohamed downward-facing red arrow 59'
Substitutions:
MF 7 Trézéguet upward-facing green arrow 59'
MF 21 Zizo upward-facing green arrow 59'
FW 28 Marwan Hamdy upward-facing green arrow 59'
FW 18 Mohanad Lasheen upward-facing green arrow 99'
Coach:
Portugal Carlos Queiroz

Man of the Match:
Mohamed Abou Gabal (Egypt)[1]

Assistant referees:
Zakhele Siwela (South Africa)
Souru Phatsoane (Lesotho)
Fourth official:
Jean Jacques Ndala Ngambo (DR Congo)
Reserve assistant referee:
Olivier Safari (DR Congo)
Video assistant referee:
Adil Zourak (Morocco)
Assistant video assistant referees:
Bouchra Karboubi (Morocco)
Zakaria Brinsi (Morocco)

Match rules[36][37]

  • 90 minutes.
  • 30 minutes of extra time if necessary.
  • Penalty shoot-out if scores still level.
  • Maximum of twelve named substitutes.
  • Maximum of five substitutions, with a sixth allowed in extra time.[note 1]


Statistics

Statistics[38] Senegal Egypt
Goals scored 0 0
Total shots 13 7
Shots on target 8 3
Ball possession 57% 43%
Pass accuracy 82% 76%
Corner kicks 3 4
Saves 3 8
Fouls committed 23 30
Offsides 1 1
Yellow cards 4 2
Red cards 0 0


See also

Notes

  1. ^ Each team was given only three opportunities to make substitutions, with a fourth opportunity in extra time, excluding substitutions made at half-time, before the start of extra time and at half-time in extra time.

References

  1. ^ a b Confederation of African Football [@CAF_Online] (6 February 2022). "With an out-of-the-world performance, the spectacular @mohmedabogabal is awarded the Total Energies Man of the Match award in the final! #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 | #SENEGY | #TeamEgypt | @Football2Gether" (Tweet). Retrieved 6 February 2022 – via Twitter.
  2. ^ "Sadio Mané seals Senegal's passage to Afcon final as Burkina Faso blown away". The Guardian. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  3. ^ "Salah's Egypt to face Mané's Senegal in final after shootout win over Cameroon". The Guardian. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 4 February 2022.
  4. ^ "Senegal 0-0 Egypt (Senegal win 4-2 on penalties): Sadio Mane puts penalty miss behind him to score winning spot kick in shootout". Sky Sports. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  5. ^ "Senegal victory parade in Dakar becomes biggest party in country's history". MARCA. 8 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  6. ^ "Cameroon stripped of hosting 2019 Africa Cup of Nations". BBC Sport. 30 November 2018.
  7. ^ "Nations Cup prepares for kick off". BBC Sport. 13 January 2017. Archived from the original on 9 July 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  8. ^ a b "Africa Cup of Nations". Encyclopædia Britannica. 17 June 2021. Archived from the original on 28 April 2021. Retrieved 2 July 2021.
  9. ^ Abul-Oyoun, Khaled; Cruickshank, Mark; Knight, Ken; Morrison, Neil; Stokkermans, Karel (30 March 2021). "African Nations Cup 1962". RSSSF. Retrieved 2 August 2021.
  10. ^ "Men's Ranking, 23 December 2021". Fédération Internationale de Football Association. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  11. ^ "Nigeria defy chaotic build-up to defeat Egypt in AFCON opener". ESPN. 12 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  12. ^ "Afcon 2021: Guinea-Bissau players 'in tears' after Egypt defeat following disallowed goal". BBC Sport. 17 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  13. ^ "Egypt 1-0 Sudan: Mohamed Abdelmonem secures narrow win as Pharaohs book last-16 place". Eurosport. 19 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  14. ^ "Ivory Coast thump title-holders Algeria 3-1, kicking them out of Africa Cup of Nations". France 24. 20 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  15. ^ "Egypt's ever-reliable keeper El-Shennawi suffers from muscle strain: EFA". Ahram Online. 27 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  16. ^ "Mohamed Salah's nerveless shootout penalty takes Egypt past Ivory Coast". The Guardian. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  17. ^ "Egypt beat Morocco to move to the semis". Confederation of African Football. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  18. ^ "Salah's Egypt to face Mané's Senegal in final after shootout win over Cameroon". The Guardian. 3 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  19. ^ "Mane gives Senegal win over Zimbabwe". BBC Sport. 10 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  20. ^ "Afcon 2021: Senegal top Group B despite Malawi draw". BBC Sport. 18 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  21. ^ "Afcon 2021: 'Senegal have lacked efficiency in attacking department' - Cisse | Goal.com". www.goal.com. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  22. ^ "Senegal 2-0 Cape Verde: Sadio Mane scored but injured as Senegal reach AFCON quarter-finals". Sky Sports. 26 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  23. ^ "Afcon 2021: Senegal 3-1 Equatorial Guinea: Senegal set up semi-final against Burkina Faso". BBC Sport. 30 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  24. ^ "Mane and Senegal break Burkina Faso hearts to reach AFCON final". RFI. 2 February 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)
  25. ^ Helba, Mohamed (5 February 2022). "Who is Victor Gomes? ... Referee of AFCON Final". Sada Elbalad English. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  26. ^ a b Taiwo, Taiye (4 February 2022). "Afcon 2021: South African referee Gomes gets final duty". www.goal.com. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  27. ^ a b Mphahlele, Mahlatse (5 February 2022). "Victor Gomes becomes first South African to referee a Nations Cup final". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  28. ^ "SA REF FOR AFCON FINAL". DailySun. 5 February 2022. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  29. ^ Inyang, Ifreke (5 February 2022). "Egypt vs Senegal: CAF confirms referee for AFCON 2021 final". Daily Post Nigeria. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  30. ^ Said, Nick (4 February 2022). "Egypt coach Queiroz: 'How can this referee, after what he has done, be in Afcon?'". TimesLIVE. Retrieved 9 February 2022.
  31. ^ "Rayan: Morocco holds funeral for five-year-old who died trapped in well". BBC News. 7 February 2022.
  32. ^ Mayo, Marc (6 February 2022). "How Egypt will line up against Senegal tonight". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  33. ^ a b c d e f g h i j k l m "Mané scores decisive penalty as Senegal beat Egypt to win Africa Cup of Nations". Guardian. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 7 February 2022.
  34. ^ a b c d Ouzia, Malik (6 February 2022). "Senegal vs Egypt: AFCON final - LIVE!". www.standard.co.uk. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  35. ^ a b c Unwin, Will (6 February 2022). "Senegal beat Egypt on penalties to win Africa Cup of Nations final – as it happened!". The Guardian. ISSN 0261-3077. Retrieved 10 February 2022.
  36. ^ "Regulations of the Africa Cup of Nations" (PDF). Confederation of African Football. Archived from the original (PDF) on 6 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  37. ^ "TotalEnergies AFCON 2021: Update on number of substitutions and Minimum number of players in case of positive COVID19 tests". Confederation of African Football. 8 January 2022. Retrieved 5 February 2022.
  38. ^ "Senegal vs. Egypt - Football Match Stats - February 6, 2022". ESPN. 6 February 2022. Retrieved 6 February 2022.

External links

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