An emotional Edouard Mendy said all of Senegal’s hard work had finally paid off after he helped his nation beat Egypt 4-2 on penalties to seal their first m Africa Cup of Nations crown.
Sadio Mane had a penalty saved by Egypt goalkeeper Gabaski in only the seventh minute in Yaounde, Cameroon, but the Liverpool star stepped up and redeemed himself with the decisive effort after extra time.
Neither team were able to make the breakthrough after 120 minutes of action at the Olembe Stadium and Egypt will have fancied their chances given all of their knockout games in the tournament had gone the distance.
- Man Utd consider swapping Cristiano Ronaldo for PSG boss Pochettino
- Rudiger increases Chelsea salary demands after Real Madrid offer
- Chelsea provide Mason Mount injury update after Plymouth win
Mohamed Abdelmonem was the first to miss as he hit the post from 12 yards, before Senegal’s Bouna Sarr was denied by Egypt goalkeeper Gabaski.
Mendy stopped Mohanad Lasheen with an incredible save to his right to set the stage for Mane and the Liverpool forward showed nerves of steel to slot home, sending Senegal’s squad into raptures.
‘We are proud as we never won before,’ Senegal and Chelsea man – named goalkeeper of the tournament – said shortly after the penalty shootout.
‘We worked really hard to win this trophy and today we won as a group, as a country, and that’s why I’m super proud.’
Asked how tense the shootout was at the death, Mendy said: ‘Yeah, it was for me, but also for the shooters. ‘They did really well and I tried to give my best to save one shot and I did so I’m super happy.’
Senegal skipper Kalidou Koulibaly, meanwhile, hailed his ‘magnificent’ team-mates and reserved special praise for Mendy, describing the Chelsea keeper as ‘the best in the world’.
‘We feel happy,’ the Napoli central defender said. ‘We knew it would be hard to win the Africa Cup of Nations but today we made it.
‘Our team deserved to win this title. We had been looking for this for a long time and now we have it. This team is magnificent.
‘It was a tough game and a tough tournament. We made it with our team and our power. ‘Our goalkeeper is the best in the world and we win the title.’
