Senegal crowned African champions
DAKAR EXPLODED WITH
joy at the final whistle last Sunday (Feb 5) as Sadio Mane’s Senegal beat Mohamed
Salah’s Egypt for their first ever Africa Cup of Nations crown.
“African champions. What
a game! What a team! You did it. Beautiful moment of football, beautiful moment of communion and national pride. Congratulations to our heroes,” Senegalese President Macky Sall tweeted after the Lions’ win.
Sall declared Monday a national holiday to celebrate the “brilliant victory.”
Dakar erupted when Liverpool star Mane scored the decisive penalty to give Senegal a 4-2 shoot-out win after the final finished goalless at the end of extra time.
Mane had missed a penalty
during normal time when his shot was saved by Egypt goalkeeper
Mohamed Abou Gabal
in just the seventh minute of the match.
The tense shoot-out saw some anxious supporters in tears and even unable to watch the screen until Mane’s strike ensured Senegal as African champions.
Hundreds of supporters in Senegal jerseys flocked to Independence Square, near the presidential palace in the heart of Dakar, to celebrate.
The square vibrated to the sound of car horns, vuvuzelas,
whistles and firecrackers.
A festive atmosphere spread across the capital, with national flags hung from buildings, on vehicles and sidewalks.
At the massive African Renaissance Monument which
towers above the capital from a hill overlooking the Atlantic
Ocean, dozens of fans hugged each other amid bonfires after
the victory.
“I’m happy. It’s the best day of my life,” 25-year-old Modou Ba, a car washer, said after the match..