‎Senegal has stunned Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final as Pape Gueye’s goal gave them a 1-0 extra-time win over the hosts
‎Brahim Diaz could have won the trophy for Morocco when he stepped up to take the spot-kick in the 24th added minute at the end of normal time, however, Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy saved the weak attempted chip by the Real Madrid winger, who was distracted by the long delay that followed the penalty award.
‎Congolese match referee Jean-Jacques Ndala gave the penalty right at the end of the allotted eight added minutes following a VAR check for a challenge on Diaz in the box by Senegal defender El Hadji Malick Diouf.
‎Diaz, the rest of the Moroccan team and their bench vehemently protested to the referee to check the images, but the decision to eventually give the spot-kick was met with fury by Senegal and their fans.
‎After Diaz’s penalty miss, it felt almost inevitable that Senegal would go on to score, but they did so in the fourth minute of extra time to stun the home fans in the crowd at the Prince Moulay Abdellah Stadium.
‎It is their second Cup of Nations title in the last three editions, after they defeated Egypt on penalties in Yaounde in 2022 to win the trophy for the first time in their history.
‎They can now look forward to heading to the United States for the World Cup in June,
Edited by Favour Owonibi.