2021 AFCON: What Senegal’s Victory Means To Nigeria And Other African Countries
The 2021 AFCON hosted by Cameroon came to an end yesterday with the Lions of Teranga of Senegal lifting the trophy for the first time.
It took Senegalese coach, Aliou Cissé eight years to win a trophy for his country as he was given all the time and needed support to coach to change the narratives.
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Cisse’s victory is an indication that foreign coaches do not make a difference. Anybody can get it right. Nigeria has the tools but could not put them to effective use.
The game between Senegal and Egypt was dramatic. Sixth minutes to the first half, Sadio Mane missed a penalty that energized her opponent, Egypt. Before Mane took the penalty, Mohammed Salah was suspected to have whispered the goalie the direction to dive to after spotting him with the goalkeeper.
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The Senegalese kept hope alive even after Sadio failed to convert the penalty to goal. Cisse’s men did not relax. They were committed to seeing their dream come through.
The success of Senegal in their 2021 AFCON outing is a lesson to Nigeria and Africans at large. Foreign coach is not the solution to African football. You get everything in return whenever you give everything.
Mendy, the Senegalese and Chelsea goalkeeper ended up having a vital spot-kick in the shootout to help his country become the AFCON champions. He was also named as the best goalkeeper in the competition.
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His collection of honors is growing faster than grass in the summertime. Is Chelsea not lucky enough to have such a quality goalkeeper and great man?
Mendy reacted after the match and he was buzzing. He was happy that he managed to save a penalty and says he is ‘super proud of his team and his country right now.
“We are proud,” he said.
His words: “We never won it before. We worked hard to win this trophy and today we won as a group and as a country and that is why I am super proud.
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“The shooters in the penalties did well, I tried to do my best to save one shot and I did that, so I am super happy!”
Nigeria was tipped for victory after winning all her group stage matches. Unfortunately, the dreams of the Super Eagles were abolished by Tunisia, as it trashed Nigeria 1-0 at the knockout stage.
