Senegal in the Africa Cup of Nations Final
Referee misses twice, ex-BVB star scores
2/3/2022, 7:15 am
Senegal is back in the Africa Cup of Nations final after 2019. Two penalty decisions could have provided clarity early on, but the VAR sees it differently. In the end, a superstar and a former Bundesliga professional decide in favor of the Teranga Lions.
Led by top star Sadio Mané, the Senegalese national team has again reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. The Liverpool striker shone in the 3-1 (0-0) semifinals in Yaoundé against Burkina Faso with Leverkusen defender Edmond Tapsoba scoring and assisting. In the final on Sunday (8 p.m. LIVE on DAZN) it is against hosts Cameroon or Mohamed Salah’s Egyptians.
In 2019, Senegal failed in the final against Algeria, now Mané, Bayern Munich’s Bouna Sarr and Co. want to do better and win their country’s first title in the continental competition. Former Mainzer Abdou Diallo (70th), who later switched to Borussia Dortmund and from there to PSG for the then Mainz record fee of around 28 million euros, Idrissa Gueye (76th) and Manè (87th) made the decision. The interim goal from Blati Toure (83′), who scored with a knee, was not enough for Burkina Faso.
In the first half, Egyptian referee Bamlak Tessema Weyesa awarded Senegal a penalty twice, but revised it after viewing the video images. In the second half, the favorite struck twice in just six minutes: Diallo scored from a corner and Gueye after a pass from Mané. When the underdog defended himself again and came to 1: 2, Mané destroyed all hopes of Burkina Faso.
On Wednesday, the organizers also made changes to the tournament schedule at very short notice and brought the game for third place forward from Sunday to Saturday. To hold the “small final” and the final on Sunday is not logistically manageable. Therefore, Burkina Faso will meet the loser between Egypt and Cameroon on Saturday (8 p.m. LIVE on DAZN) in the capital Yaoundé.