On January 18, Morocco and Senegal faced off against each other in the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final. After a hard-fought match, Senegal came out on top with a 1-0 victory in added time.

This marks Senegal’s second AFCON title in the nation’s history, marking 5 years since the team defeated Egypt on penalties in 2021. The game was the country’s fourth time reaching the AFCON final, losing in 2002 and 2019.  

In the 91st minute of the game, Senegal was awarded a corner kick after a volley attempt was blocked by Jawad El Yamiq of Morocco. The corner resulted in a goal for Senegal, giving them a 1-0 lead with minimal time left.

However, the referee disallowed the goal due to a controversial foul by Abdoulaye Seck, where he grabbed a Morocco player while attempting to head the ball. Soon after in the 94th minute, a Senegal defender blocked a shot attempt which would have most likely been a goal by Youssef En-Nesyri.

With the ball being last touched by Senegal, Morocco was awarded a corner kick. As the ball flew across the field, Morocco’s Brahim Díaz was seemingly grabbed by the shoulder and thrown to the ground by Senegal’s El Hadji Malick Diouf inside the box. 

As the whistle blew signaling there was a foul, the stadium became a madhouse. What seemed like an obvious penalty kick almost caused the match to end in a forfeit.  

Senegal players rushed over to the side of the field to argue with the referee and opposing team in disagreement over the foul. This was not just about winning or losing a soccer game, this was a protest against bias and an attempt to keep their season alive. 

Eventually, the team realized their arguing was not getting them anywhere, opting to leave the field, returning to their locker room with time still left on the clock. Many in the crowd were confused as to what was happening and even left the stadium believing Senegal would not return. However, the team captain Sadio Mané would not let his team be defeated by adversity and encouraged his men to continue to play.  

Mané spoke on his call to bring his team back on the field in an interview after the game. 

“As a team, we decided to not play…but I asked some people ‘what do you think about this, it’s a good idea or no?’ and then I decided to go and bring everybody on the pitch…I think it was the best thing to do because this is just football,” Mané said.

The penalty kick was blocked by Senegal’s goalkeeper Édouard Mendy, and the team took a huge sigh of relief after almost quitting the match all together. 

Soon after in the 93rd minute of added time, Papa Gueye scored an amazing goal on a shot to the top right corner taken from just outside the box. Without much time left, the odds of winning and momentum were in Senegal’s hands. 

As the final whistle blew, players rushed onto the field to celebrate their huge accomplishment and victory over adversity. Fans everywhere began to rejoice, cry, and scream in celebration. 

The match was an incredible display of sportsmanship and maturity from Senegal’s captain Sadio Mané on the biggest stage. The match was not just another AFCON final; it taught a lesson of fighting through life’s hardships even when it does not seem fair.

The game of life is hard and can sometimes feel rigged, but there is always light at the end of the tunnel, and in Senegal’s case, the lustrous globe sitting atop the cup was the light that inspired the team to continue to fight.