The Africa Cup of Nations is a men’s international football competition that is held after every two years. In 2019, the AFCON competition was held in Egypt. This year’s competition was in Cameroon. The AFCON 2022 is an event that attracted many football fans from across Africa.
The competition started with 24 teams from across Africa. The teams were kept into six groups. In the six groups, the teams compete against each other and only the top two proceed to the next round. The 16 teams that proceed after the elimination then play against each other until there are only two teams left to compete for the AFCON champion title.
2022’s AFCON championship saw teams like Cameroon, Senegal, Egypt, Burkina Faso, Nigeria, Algeria, Mali, Gambia, Tunisia among others. The teams competed against each other and along the way some were eliminated. The two teams that had to battle for the Africa Cup on Nations trophy are Senegal and Egypt.
The finals for the AFCON 2022 competition happened on 6th February 2022. This was a highly anticipated game and many fans from across the world tuned in to watch the final match. Many fans tried to predict the scores of the final match.
Egypt has won the Africa Cup of Nation trophy seven times. This was a major challenge for Senegal as many had predicted that Egypt might win the trophy once more. The Senegalese players were under a lot of pressure to do their best and bring the trophy home. Winning the Nations Cup meant that this was going to be their first-ever AFCON win.
Egypt had players like Mohammed Salah, Mohanad Lasheen, Ahmed Sayed, and Marwan Hamdi among others. Senegal had Sadio Mane, Bamba Dieng, Kalidou Koulibaly, Bouna Sarr and Abdou Diallo among other players.
At the beginning of the match, Mohamed Abdelmonem, a player from Egypt got a yellow card. In the 7th minute, Sadio Mane was given a penalty kick but missed it. Some of the players that got yellow cards before the halftime of the game are Nampalys Mendy, Hamdi Fathi, and Kalidou Koulibaly.
At halftime, none of the teams had scored any goals. During the 58th and 59th minutes, Egypt had three substitutes: Trezeguet, Ahmed Sayed, and Marwan Hamdi. Senegal had got substitutes in the 66th and 77th minute: Pape Gueye, Boulaye Dia, and Bamba Dieng. Sadio Mane got a yellow card in the 88th minute.
At the end of the 90 minutes, no team had scored any goals. Pressure and tension were building up all over. From the stadium to homes and entertainment joints. The two teams were then given some extra minutes but still, no goals were scored.
For a champion to be chosen, the two teams were given penalties. The team with the most penalty scores would be crowned the Africa Cup of Nations winner. Senegal was the first team to start with the penalty kicks. At the end of the penalties, Sadio Mane of Senegal scored the last and winning penalty kick.
Senegal was finally the Africa Cup of Nations champion. This was their first-ever Cup of Nations trophy. There was a celebration throughout the stadium and at home in Dakar in Senegal. Sadio Mane was the man of the day.
