Senegal have been crowned African champions again after a dramatic AFCON 2025 final that had players briefly walking off the pitch before returning to finish the job. The Lions of Teranga beat hosts Morocco 1–0 after extra time in Rabat on January 18, 2026, with midfielder Pape Gueye smashing in the winner just four minutes into the added period. The result delivers Senegal a second AFCON title in five years and confirms their rise as one of the continent’s dominant modern sides.
The controversy came at the end of regulation, when Senegal thought they had grabbed a late goal only for it to be ruled out after a foul was called on Abdoulaye Seck in the buildup. Minutes later, VAR sent referee Jean‑Jacques Ndala to the monitor and he awarded Morocco a penalty for a foul on Brahim Díaz by El Hadji Malick Diouf, prompting angry protests and a temporary walk‑off as most Senegal players headed toward the dressing room in disbelief. They eventually returned, and Díaz’s attempted Panenka was easily saved by Édouard Mendy, keeping the game scoreless and setting the stage for extra‑time drama.
Once the match restarted, Senegal regrouped quickly. Just into extra time, Pape Gueye found space at the edge of the box and fired a shot into the top corner, silencing the home crowd and shifting the pressure back onto Morocco. Reports from the ground note that Morocco pushed for an equaliser but struggled to break down Senegal’s compact defence, with Mendy and centre‑back Kalidou Koulibaly dealing calmly with crosses and late set pieces. The final whistle triggered huge celebrations in Dakar and across the diaspora, with fans recognising the moment as confirmation that the 2022 title was no one‑off.
This latest triumph adds a second star above Senegal’s crest after their breakthrough AFCON win over Egypt on penalties in 2022, when Mendy and Sadio Mané combined to win a shoot‑out in Yaoundé. As Al Jazeera’s recap, “Senegal beat hosts Morocco to win AFCON 2025 after farcical walk‑off”, points out, the way they handled the chaos—protesting a decision they felt was unjust but ultimately returning to play and win—will likely become part of the team’s mythology.
