⚽🇨🇲  33rd EDITION OF AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS 🌍

✍🏽 Presented by Joseph Kizza

(Scroll down the page for earlier updates)
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1:25 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 
(Senegal win 4-2 on penalties)

And there you have it, ladies and gentlemen. The new champions of Africa have been crowned, which means it's a wrap over here. Thank you for following along.

Congratulations to the two sets of finalists. You are all winners!

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1:23 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 
(Senegal win 4-2 on penalties)

Sadio Mane ... Finally he has his hands on the coveted trophy!

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1:18 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 
(Senegal win 4-2 on penalties)

Teranga Lions skipper Koulibaly then carefully walks down the stadium steps with the brand-new trophy to head back to the pitch and lift it with his jubilant teammates.

Celebrations in Dakar!

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1:14 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 
(Senegal win 4-2 on penalties)

The new champions walk to the makeshift stage to receive their gold medals. And they do so in groovy mood. Elation!

Their captain, Kalidou Koulibaly, is then escorted up to the VIP section of the stadium to officially receive the trophy from the host nation's president, 88-year-old Paul Biya.

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1:11 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 
(Senegal win 4-2 on penalties)

An understandably disconsolate Mohamed Salah leads his equally sombre teammates to receive their silver medals for finishing as runners-up. They had dreamt of the golden version.

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1:08 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 
(Senegal win 4-2 on penalties)

Meanwhile, Cameroon have handed over the symbolic hosting flag to Ivory Coast, who will host the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.

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1:07 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 
(Senegal win 4-2 on penalties)

Awarding the best players of the tournament:

Édouard Mendy (Senegal) - Best Goalkeeper
Vincent Aboubakar (Cameroon) - Topscorer (eight goals)
Sadio Mane (Senegal) - Best Player

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12:59 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 
(Senegal win 4-2 on penalties)

After twice finishing as runners-up (losing finalists) in 2002 and 2019, Senegal - Africa's top-ranked team - are now AFCON winners. It is Senegal's first title. It is Aliou Cisse's first title. It is Sadio Mane's first title.

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12:50 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 
(Senegal win 4-2 on penalties)

Tears of joy inside Olembe Stadium and in Dakar. Tears of heartbreak inside Olembe Stadium and in Cairo.

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12:45 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

BREAKING NEWS

SENEGAL WIN 4-2 ON PENALTIES!

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12:44 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Sadio Mane scores the winning penalty. 4-2

SENEGAL WIN!

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12:43 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Édouard Mendy saves. 3-2 (Advantage Senegal)

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12:42 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Bamba Dieng scores for Senegal. 3-2.

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12:41 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Marwan Hamdy (Egypt) scores. 2-2 now. Parity.

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12:40 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Bouna Sarr misses. Mohamed Abou Gabal saves. 2-1.

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12:39 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Mohamed Abdelmonem misses (hits post). 2-1.

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12:38 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Abdou Diallo scores. Clean on the left. 2-1.

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12:37 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Zizo beats Édouard Mendy. 1-1

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12:36 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY SHOOTOUT

Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly is the first man to take. He scores. Advantage Senegal. 1-0

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12:27 am

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬

 
And that is it! Two hours of football produce no goal.

PENALTIES ARE COMING UP NEXT!
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12:27 am

119'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

ONE MINUTE TO GO . . .

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12:24 am

116'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

CHANCE for Egypt! Édouard Mendy is now the keeper drawn into action for a fine save that results into an Egypt corner. It is busy inside the Senegal box, but again, no winner here.

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12:22 am

114'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

CLOSE! Bamba Dieng tests Mohamed Abou Gabal again - and the Egyptian gloves out his heavy shot.

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12:20 am

112'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Saturday's third place playoff between eventual winners hosts Cameroon and Burkina Faso was decided by a penalty shootout after a six-goal thriller. Shall we have another shootout in this big one?

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12:17 am

109'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

This has become familiar territory for Egypt (extra time) - and it is without doubt that The Pharaohs have required a sprinkling of Salah's star dust to spark their passage to this tight final.

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12:14 am

106'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

The ball gets rolling again after a brief break.

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12:12 am

105'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

EXTRA TIME HALF TIME. Still goalless in Yaounde. What a night!

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12:10 am

103'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

A spirited race on the left flank sees Sadio Mane leap over his sliding minder and whip a cross into the box - the ball is connected by Bamba Dieng and it is bouncy. Again, Mohamed Abou Gabal makes a timely save to spray it out for a corner.

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12:06 am

99'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Trezeguet was the extra-time match-winner against Morocco in the quarterfinals. The Egyptian wants to replicate that when he tries to turn inside the Senegal box, but his shot is too feeble to disturb a heavily fortified Édouard Mendy.

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12:03 am

96'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

All Egypt's four knockout stage games in Cameroon have been forced into extra time, with two extending into penalty shootouts (against Ivory Coast and Cameroon).

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11:59 pm

93'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

The Lions of Teranga have another set-piece opportunity. Bouna Sarr whips in the freekick but it is a tad too high for any meaningful connection inside the box.

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11:57 pm

91'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

We are under way! And almost immediately, Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal is drawn into another fine save to deny Senegal. Great vision by Sadio Mane down the left edge to thread a pass into his teammate's path.

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11:52 pm

FULL TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

MATCH GOES INTO EXTRA TIME.

It's not over yet! We have 30 minutes more of footballing watching to do.

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11:48 pm

90'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

THREE MINUTES OF ADDED TIME.

This is destined for extra time. Deja vu for Egypt. They have been here before in this knockout stage.

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11:47 pm

89'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Egypt have a freekick from miles out. Zizo is the man to deliver the goods. He does, but the ball escapes everyone's head and bounces out of play.

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11:42 pm

84'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

CHANCE, but Bamba Dieng, who has come on in place of Famara Diédhiou, sees another set of goal posts in the skies. His heavy wild shot from a good cross from the left is destined for the clouds!

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11:38 pm

80'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

It is end to end stuff.

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11:38 pm

80'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

TEN MINUTES TO GO . . .

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11:37 pm

79'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Now it is the Teranga Lions on the attack, and they get a freekick just outside the edge after Hamdy Fathy downs Sadio Mane. Saliou Cisss stands over the dead ball - but when he launches the ball into flight, it's a spherical rocket headed for the skies! The Egyptian keeper is not interested.

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11:34 pm

76'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

More desperate Senegal defending ends in a corner kick. Nothing good comes from the resulting take, though. Uhs and ahs from the crowd with every missed effort.

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11:32 pm

74'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Senegal are now pegged back, forced to do more defending than attacking. A ball is swept into the box, substitute Marwan Hamdy has the vision for it, but he does not rise well to connect. His headed effort goes wide.

Egypt knocking.

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11:29 pm

71'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Sadio Mane apologizes to Emam Ashour for his sliding tackle on the Egyptian - and the Senegal star helps him back up onto his feet. Good sportsmanship on show here. These are the sort of scenes we - okay, I - want to see more.

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11:27 pm

69'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

CHANCE for Egypt! But Mohammed Abdelmonem's header from Zizo's freekick goes high, failing to find the target.

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11:25 pm

67'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Mohamed Abou Gabal seems to put in some extra hours in practice on perfecting his penalty-stopping craft. The Zamalek goalie made two penalty saves in their semifinal win against Cameroon. He has been phenomenal tonight.

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11:18 pm

60'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

By the way, Ugandans will remember that Sadio Mane was denied by Denis Onyango from the spot in Egypt 2019 - although the Liverpool star went on to score the winner in that round of 16 tie that ended The Cranes' journey.

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11:14 pm

56'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Here we go Senegal again - and yet, another attack is snuffed out by the excellent Mohamed Abou Gabal. The Egyptian keeper has put up a man-of-the-match performance so far in between the sticks.

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11:12 pm

54'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

🟨 YELLOW CARD! (Senegal)

Abdou Diallo is booked for a reckless foul on Mohamed Salah. He will have no complaints, the Senegal man.

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11:10 pm

52'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

CHANCE for Senegal! It is busy activity inside the Egyptian box, but once again, Mohamed Abou Gabal throws his body in the path of a threaded pass to stop Sadio Mane from rounding him inside the area.

Noise inside Olembe!

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11:08 pm

50'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Second half has started the way the opening half did - with Senegal flying out of the blocks.

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11:05 pm

47'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

And the first action of the second half sees Hamdy Fathy bring down Sadio Mane just outside the box, and the punishment: freekick to Senegal. Idrissa Gueye's resulting take is overcooked and flies over the bar.

Kalidou Koulibaly is seen appearing not particularly pleased with the effort.

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11:03 pm

KICKOFF!  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Action resumes inside a lively, colour-filled Olembe Stadium.

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10:58 pm

HALF TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Some pictures from the opening half . . .

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10:54 pm

HALF TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

What trick does Senegal coach Aliou Cisse have up his sleeve for the next 45 minutes?

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10:47 pm

HALF TIME:  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

It is goalless at the break at Olembe Stadium. Sadio Mane missed a penalty early in the game. He will definitely rue that squandered opportunity.

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10:45 pm

45'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

CLOSE! Cheikhou Kouyaté has the vision, and tries his luck at goal. But his fierce shot struck with the outside of his right boot whistles inches beyond the post. That was very, very close.

Two minutes added.

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10:44 pm

44'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

🟨 YELLOW CARD! (Senegal)

Teranga Lions captain Kalidou Koulibaly is booked for fouling Mostafa Mohamed.

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10:42 pm

42'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

CHANCE! Should Sadio Mane have gone for goal there? Maybe yes, but the Senegal forward instead elects to cut the ball back to his equally-advancing teammate, who cannot connect and the ball is cleared.

Moments later, Mohamed Salah is on the attack on the other end of the pitch. The Liverpool man smacks in a curler, but Édouard Mendy's tips the effort over the bar for a corner. That was a loaded shot!

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10:41 pm

41'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Senegal have been forward-thinking in this opening half.

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10:37 pm

37'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Chance for Senegal from a freekick. Famara Diédhiou's goal-bound header is powerful, but Mohamed Abou Gabal is equal to the task. Safe gloves.

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10:33 pm

33'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

The Senegalese are spraying the ball around the field - left to right and centre. This time, Ismaïla Sarr races down the right flank and instead of bending a cross into the area for any one of his teammates to hopeful connect, he decides to go for goal. It is many inches over the bar.

 Goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal is not moved.

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10:30 pm

30'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

The Pharaohs have started to inject more vim into their attacks as the clock ticks away like it is on a contract. Already half-an-hour gone in this showdown.

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10:29 pm

29'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Now we see 29-year-old Mohamed Salah in action. He waltzes his way through the Senegal defence, before letting rip inside the area - but the Egyptian captain's effort is too weak to beat Édouard Mendy.

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10:26 pm

26'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Senegal are knocking  - actually BANGING - on Egypt's door, but The Pharaohs are famous for their foolproof rearguard, and have done well to keep out the marauding Teranga Lions.

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10:25 pm

25'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

On their way to this final, Egypt were forced to go into extra time in all three knockout ties. Two of those were stretched into penalty shootouts - against Ivory Coast (round of 16) and Cameroon (semifinal).

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10:23 pm

23'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

CHANCE! Sadio Mane should have connected that one - but he is late. That was a great cross into the area by Ismaïla Sarr. It is a shame his teammate could not get to it on time.

By the way, Mane played in the Senegal team that lost to Algeria in the final in Egypt in 2019.

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10:17 pm

17'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

🟨 YELLOW CARD! (Senegal)

Nampalys Mendy goes into the referee's book for hacking Omar Marmoush. The Senegal man needs to watch his feet from now on.

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10:15 pm

15'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

That early Senegal momentum has been hushed a tad by the Egyptians, who have now settled well into the game. The penalty definitely disoriented them for a while there but it is now steady sailing.

Meanwhile, expect to see more of the Senegal vs Egypt clashes. The two nations have also been drawn to play each other in a two-legged World Cup qualifying play-off in March. Only one will make it to the finals in Qatar later this year.

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10:12 pm

12'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

But now the North Africans have broken into the final third. There is a headed chance, but Édouard Mendy rises to pluck the ever rising ball from the sky.

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10:10 pm

10'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

In the attacking sense, it has been all Senegal in the first ten minutes. The Pharaohs have hardly crossed into Senegal's half.

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10:08 pm

8'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Mane and Salah are playing against each other at international level for the first time since they joined up at Liverpool. The former has just missed a perfect opportunity to put his side in front in these opening stages of the game.

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10:06 pm

6'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

MISSED PENALTY! Sadio Mane sees his penalty blocked by Mohamed Abou Gabal.

Just before that take, Mohamed Salah appeared to be giving his keeper some tips as Mane intervened. Whatever the Egyptian captain told the Zamalek man, it has clearly worked. Excellent block.

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10:04 pm

4'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

PENALTY TO SENEGAL!

Well, well, well. Don't we have a contest here! Mohamed Abdelmonem downs a speeding Sadio Mane, who is like a bullet train.

Yellow card for the Egyptian as well for his mischief.

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10:02 pm

2'  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Sadio Mane leads a Senegal attack, but defender Mohamed Abdelmonem won't allow the Liverpool star to peel away from him.

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10:00 pm

KICKOFF!  Senegal 🇸🇳  0-0 Egypt 🇪🇬 

Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane go head to head. 

Together, these two star players have won the English Premier League and Champions League for Liverpool at club level. But, as we get under way inside a vibrant Olembe Stadium, only one of them can realize his dream on the international stage. Who will it be?

It is a showdown of heavyweights.

South African referee Victor Gomes is handling tonight's final.

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9:57 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

The anthems are done. Squad pictures for the members of the press.

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9:53 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Kickoff is just minutes away. The teams are emerging from the tunnel. We are getting so close to action time  . . .

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9:52 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Senegal's coach said:

"We have a different squad that is even better than 2002 and better than 2019. We will try to make sure we don't make the same mistakes as in these finals, and we are very excited to have the chance to put the past behind us.

"We try to build a team around our best players and Sadio Mane is one of them. We need to find a way of getting the best out of him and also try to diminish Salah's room for manoeuvre, although the most important thing is not necessarily that Sadio shines but rather that the whole team shines."

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9:50 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

In the buildup to the final, Egypt's assistant coach Diaa al-Sayed had this to say: 

"We are very proud of our achievement today but there is one more step to go.

"Salah is not only the best player in Egypt but a world-class player and his presence is a boost for the other members of the team. He is a guide and a leader. His presence is so crucial for us. He came here to win and we hope he will."

Meanwhile, speaking after coach Carlos Queiroz was dismissed in the semifinals, Sayed called on organisers to delay tonight's final against Senegal to give them more time to prepare.

"I want to state to all CAF authorities that Senegal have one extra day to train and therefore maybe we should play the final on Monday," he suggested.

Well, from the look of things, he won't get that. The game will happen on the day it was originally scheduled for. That is, tonight.

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9:48 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Meanwhile, Egypt's veteran Portuguese coach Carlos Queiroz will be off the touchline for tonight's final. Remember the dramatic scenes in Thursday's semifinal against Cameroon?

Queiroz was very much involved. He has been banned for this showdown after being redcarded during a tempestuous sideshow . . .

Who said a referee's job is easy? Gambian referee Bakary Gassama will tell you it's DEFINITELY not after his busy officiating three nights ago.

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9:45 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Here is how the two sides are starting tonight:

Senegal . . .

Édouard Mendy ‏(GK)
Bouna Sarr
Saliou Ciss
Nampalys Mendy
Kalidou Koulibaly ‏(C)
Abdou Diallo
Ismaïla Sarr
Cheikhou Kouyaté
Famara Diédhiou
Idrissa Gueye
Sadio Mané

Egypt . . .

Mohamed Abou Gabal ‏(GK)
Emam Ashour
Ahmed Abou El Fotouh
Hamdy Fathy
Mohamed Abdelmonem
Mahmoud Hamdi El Wensh
Mohamed Elneny
Amr El Soleya
Mostafa Mohamed
Mohamed Salah ‏(C)
Omar Marmoush



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9:34 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

It has been an explosive, beautiful closing ceremony inside the sprawling Olembe Stadium. But enough of the formalities - next up, action on the pitch.

There is a little matter of a final to get out of th way . . .

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9:30 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Nigerian Stephen Keshi (RIP) remains the only coach from sub-Saharan Africa to have won the Africa Cup of Nations in this millennium. He did it in 2013 with the Super Eagles of Nigeria in South Africa.

Aliou Cissé of Senegal hopes to follow in Keshi's footsteps tonight.

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9:27 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

This is what the boss (Jurgen Klopp) said in the buildup on Friday:

"It is a great achievement for both getting through to the final. So far it's been a really successful tournament for our boys. It will be exciting.

"Now it's obviously not so easy because one will definitely be really happy after and the other one much less so. But both have a good chance to achieve something really big."

I must say, Klopp's tactical genuis does not stop at matters on the pitch. He applies it too in responding to tricky questions . . .

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9:24 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Mohamed Salah is itching to get his hands on that trophy . . .

"I won the Champions League which was a great feeling, and I won the Premier League after 30 years with my club. I won in Switzerland, I won everywhere, and also I want to have that feeling of winning my first trophy with my country."

"It's great to play against Senegal as a team and also against Sadio. We are going to be rivals and after the game we will be teammates again."

"This trophy for me would be completely different. It would be the closest one to my heart."

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9:22 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Before learning who their opponents for tonight's final, here is what Sadio Mane said after making it through:

"It shows you the momentum we have. We knew it was not going to be at all easy to get to two straight AFCON finals, but the most important for us now is to go all the way and win it, whoever we come up against.

"I think you can see on my face how happy I am which is completely normal. I am really proud personally and very happy for myself, my teammates and the country."

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9:20 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Coming into tonight's final, a total of 100 goals have been scored in 51 games, with a goals average per match of 1.96. 

At three goals, Senegal's Sadio Mane can equal (with five) or surpass (with more than five) Cameroon's Vincent Aboubakar's chart-topping eight goals - for the Golden Boot.

Meanwhile, for you the lovers of stats, here are all the scorers of this 2021 AFCON edition:

8 - Aboubakar (Cameroon)
5 - Toko Ekambi (Cameroon)
3 - Boufal (Morocco), Kone (Mali), Mane (Senegal), Mhango (Malawi)
2 - Musa Barrow, Jallow (both Gambia), Allevinah (Gabon), Hakimi (Morocco), Khazri (Tunisia), Mogni (Comoros), Pepe (Ivory Coast), Salah (Egypt) 

Below are the scorers of one goal:

- Burkina Faso: Bande, Bayala, Dango Ouattara, Djibil Ouattara, Sangare, Toure, B. Traore, Yago
- Nigeria: Awoniyi, Chukwueze, Iheanacho, Sadiq, Simon, Troost-Ekong
- Senegal: Diallo, Diedhiou, Dieng, I. Gueye, Kouyate, Sarr
- Ivory Coast: Gradel, Haller, Kessie, Sangare
- Morocco: Aboukhlal, Amallah, En-Nesyri
- Ghana: A. Ayew, Boakye, Djiku
- Equatorial Guinea: Buyla, Ganet, Obiang 
- Tunisia: Jaziri, Mathlouthi, Msakni 
- Zimbabwe: Mahachi, Musona, Wadi
- Egypt: Abdelmonem, Trezeguet
- Ethiopia:  Hotessa, Kebede
- Sierra Leone: A. Kamara, M. Kamara
- Guinea: Keita, Sylla
- Comoros: Y. M'Changama, Ben Mohamed
- Cape Verde: Rodrigues, J. Tavares
- Cameroon: Bahoken 
- Algeria: Bendebka
- Gabon: Boupendza
- Mali: M. Haidara
- Sudan: Khidir

Three own-goals by Aguerd (Morocco), Guira (Burkina Faso) and goalkeeper A. Onana (Cameroon)

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9:16 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Egypt's goals record

Remarkably, Egypt's four goals scored in six games have been enough to get them to tonight's final.

The subplot in all this is that two of The Pharoahs' knockout games ended in penalaties - against Ivory Coast in the round of 16 and against Cameroon in the semifinals. Both games produced no goal after 120 minutes of action.

Earlier, in the group stage, Mohamed Salah scored in their 1-0 win over Guinea Bissau.

Then, Mohamed Abdelmonem was the man on target in their 1-0 victory over Sudan.

In the quarterfinals, Salah scored and set Trezeguet up for the winner in their 2-1 win over Morocco.

In summary, Egypt's goal scorers are: Mohamed Salah (2), Mohamed Abdelmonem (1)  and Trezeguet (1).

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9:10 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Senegal's goals record

It may have been low-scoring start to the campaign for this star-packed Senegal, but Aliou Cissé's side eventually found their scoring boots. In total, nine goals have seen them through to the final.

How only one goal was enough to get them into the knockout stage still baffles me!

And that was Sadio Mane's super-late penalty against Zimbabwe in their opener. 
Mane and Bamba Dieng were on target in their 2-0 win over Cape Verde in the last-16.

In the quarterfinals, Famara Diedhiou and substitutes Cheikhou Kouyate and Ismaila Sarr scored in a convincing 3-1 victory over Equatorial Guinea.

Abdou Diallo, Idrissa Gana Gueye and Mane ensured a 3-1 win over Burkina Faso in the semis.

In summary, Senagal's goal scorers are: Sadio Mane (3), Bamba Dieng (1), Famara Diedhiou (1), Cheikhou Kouyate (1), Ismaila Sarr, Abdou Diallo (1) and Idrissa Gana Gueye (1).

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9:05 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Egypt's AFCON winning history

A super-thin inaugural Africa Cup of Nations edition of three teams in 1957 was hosted by Sudan and The Pharaohs became the pioneer champions, thanks to a resounding 4-0 victory over Ethiopia.

They won it for a second successive edition in 1959, as hosts and called United Arab Republic at the time. They beat Sudan 2-1.

In the following edition (1962), they lost to hosts Ethiopia 4-2 in extra time. By the way, Uganda featured in this one, and lost to Tunisia (3-0) in the third place match to finish fourth.

From that time onwards, every time Egypt reached the final, they emerged victorious, apart from one time (2017). It took them 24 years (since 1962) to qualify for another final. That was in 1986 against Cameroon and they beat The Indomitable Lions 5-4 on penalties to lift their third continental trophy. 

Twelve years later in Burkina Faso, The Pharoahs took on South Africa in the final and went on to secure their fourth title courtesy of a 2-0 win. This was followed by a hattrick of titles in 2006, 2008 and 2010. 

In 2006, they were the hosts and battled Didier Drogba's Ivory Coast in the final. After a goalless contest at the end of the extra time, Egypt won 4-2 on penalties to lift their fifth title.

The following edition was in Ghana. The reigning champions beat Samuel Eto'o's Cameroon 1-0 in the final in Accra through Mohamed Aboutrika's 76th-minute strike to make it title number six.

It was an identical result in the final two years later in Angola, where Egypt won their record seventh AFCON title with a late Gedo winner in Luanda.

Since 1962, the only time that Egypt made it all the way to the final and did not win was in 2017 in Gabon, when they were beaten 2-1 by Cameroon in Libreville. Egypt have returned to a 10th Cup of Nations final in pursuit of a record-extending eighth title.

Senegal will have a huge say in this.

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9:00 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

The stakes are high for Senegal tonight because they have never won the Africa Cup of Nations.

The closest The Teranga Lions have come close has been as losing finalists in 2002 and in the last edition (2019).

At the 2002 final in Mali, Senegal and Cameroon could not be separated after extra time in a goalless affair. It was the latter that proved their indomitability by winning 3-2 on penalties. Current head coach Aliou Cissé was one of the three Senegal players to miss their penalty take.

In 2019, Algeria's Baghdad Bounedjah (#9) scored the only and winning goal two minutes into the final to deny Senegal inside a packed Cairo International Stadium.

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8:56 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

President Paul Biya, who turns 89 later this month, is soaking up gratitude for his nation's hosting of this pandemic-delayed Cups of Nations tournament.

It is French speaking time, and the only words I have picked out are Samuel Eto'o and Vincent Aboubakar - following by a huge cheer across the entire stadium. You can tell that the largely Francophone crowd definitely loved what they just heard.



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8:49 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Here is the moment President Paul Biya arrived accompanied by First Lady Chantal Biya earlier.

Meanwhile, just getting under way is an elaborately-organized cultural display. Beautiful music and colours on show here. The popular Jerusalema hit is ringing across the entire stadium.

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8:40 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

The closing ceremony is under way inside Olembe Stadium in Cameroon's capital, Yaounde - where it all started on January 9. Cameroon's President Paul Biya is in attendance.

Also to around to watch tonight's final is FIFA president Gianni Infantino and Confederation of African Football boss Patrice Motsepe.

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8:37 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Pharaohs' road to the final . . .

Egypt arrived at this tournament with the undisputed status of being record seven-time Cup of Nations champions. And with such a reputation, you know all eyes will be on you.

Indeed, much of the attention was on The Pharaohs when they faced off with another continental giant, Nigeria, in their Group D opening match. But it was a losing start for the North Africans against a resplendent Super Eagles side. Kelechi Iheanacho was the match-winner in that 1-0 result.

Egypt were desperate to steady their rocked ship. Their other two group opponents - Guinea Bissau and Sudan - may be ranked much lower, but they were definitely no pushovers. In fact, it was a laboured 1-0 victory for The Pharoahs against Guinea-Bissau, with captain Mohamed Salah on target in the 69th minute.

Carlos Queiroz's side eventually progressed to the round of 16 with another 1-0 win over Sudan, thanks to Mohamed Abdelmonem's 35th-minute strike.

At the last-16 stage, the most decorated side on the continent were up against The Elephants of Ivory Coast for a high-billed clash in Cameroon's coastal city of Douala. 

An exhausting two hours of seesawing, goalless football failed to separate the two giants.

That meant the tie had to be decided by spotkicks, which saw Egypt emerge victorious (5-4) to advance to the quarterfinals.

In the last-eight, The Pharoahs were up against Morocco as part of the trio of North African representation still in the competition at the time.

In a very physical encounter, the scoreline changed as early as the seventh minute when Sofiane Boufal converted from the spot to put The Atlas Lions in front. The Egyptians returned from the break keen to level matters - and they did, eight minutes into the second half, through their captain, Salah.

Tied at 90, the game was pushed into extra time. In the 10oth minute, the talismanic Liverpool forward turned from scorer to provider when he fed in Aston Villa midfielder Trezeguet for the winner to take Egypt through to the semis.

It had been a tougher passage to the semis for The Pharoahs compared to their immediate opponents, hosts Cameroon. Two titles separate these two sides (seven vs five), so you would have expected nothing short of a fierce battle for a place in the final. It did not disappoint.

This showdown was also a replica of the 2017 final in which Cameroon came out on top. This time around, the fortunes were reversed, as Salah's Egypt won 3-1 on penalties after a goalless 120 minutes inside a bubbly Olembe Stadium under the Yaounde night sky.

The Pharoahs marched on to the final for tonight's much-anticipated meeting that pits two Liverpool stars - Mane and Salah - on different sides of the battle. In this delicious twist, a club partnership has, almost inevitably, culminated into a national footballing rivalry.

At an individual level, neither player has won the AFCON title. Salah made his national debut 11 years ago (in 2011) - a year after Egypt won their last title. Mane and Senegal have yet to land their hands on one.

So there is so much at stake - and so much to prove.

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8:30 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Teranga Lions' road to the final . . .

Senegal had a shaky start to their 2021 Cup of Nations campaign. Struggling to squeeze a win out of Zimbabwe in their opening group game instantly placed Africa's top-ranked side under undoubted scrutiny.

In that game, The Teranga Lions were fortunate to be awarded a penalty deep in stoppage time (97th minute) against the battling Warriors of Zimbabwe. Sadio Mane converted to get their campaign off to a wobbly start, and open his own goal-scoring account.

Eager to prove their doubters wrong, Senegal went into game two fully charged to face Guinea. But even here, Aliou Cissé's charges could not activate their roar. The contest ended goalless, an identical scoreline in their successive - and final - group game against The Flames of Malawi.

In a tournament that saw goals disappointingly come at a premium across the six groups, it meant that the five points that Senegal picked from their three group games were enough to take them through to the round of 16, the beginning of the knockout stage.

Here, their first hurdle came in the form of Cape Verde.

After firing blanks in their previous two games, it was a return to winning ways for The Teranga Lions against the Blue Sharks, who were reduced to nine men after Patrick Andrade was sent off midfway into the first half and later Vozinha in the 57th minute.

Before the double redcard twist, it was still goalless, and it only made sense that Senegal made the most of their eventual numerical advantage. Mane opened the scoring in the 63rd minute, before Bamba Dieng sealed the victory in stoppage time to take Cissé's side into the quarterfinals.

Their next obstacle: the National Thunder of Equatorial Guinea. 

With a semifinal slot the immediate prize, Senegal could ill afford to mess up. Mane was again crucial here, his defence-splitting through-pass to Famara Diedhiou for the opening goal in the 28th minute putting them on the right course.

But the Equatoguineans dug deep and found the leveller through Jannick Buyla 12 minutes into the second half. Crystal Palace midfielder Cheikhou Kouyate came off the bench to restored Senegal's lead just moments after his introduction with a poacher's strike. Another substitute, Ismaila Sarr, then put the contest to bed as the match-winner 11 minutes from time.

It was the first time for Senegal to score more than two goals in this campaign although it also brought to an end their clean-sheet run.

Next up was a semifinal showdown with Burkina Faso. Once again, it was Liverpool star Mane to inspire his teammates to a 3-1 win over the 2013 finalists, with the goals coming in the last 20 minutes of the game.

Abdou Diallo put Senegal in front in the 70th minute and Idrissa Gana Gueye improved the lead six minutes later, before Blati Toure halved the deficit to give Burkina Faso hope.

But it was the man himself - Mane - who sealed the victory with a composed dink over the keeper in the 87th minute. With that, Senegal had stopped The Stallions in their tracks and given themselves yet another chance at a first ever Africa Cup of Nations title.

They lost it to Algeria three years ago in Egypt. This time, it is the hosts of that 2019 edition that are keen to extend Senegal's wait.

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8:20 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal was the hero of Egypt's passage to the final when he saved from both Harold Moukoudi and James Lea-Siliki in the shootout of three nights ago. 

To beat Senegal tonight, Abou Gabal will have to be in flying form again - literally.

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8:10 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Meanwhile, Thursday's second semifinal between Cameroon and Egypt had been dubbed a final before the final, and after the Egyptians rose to the occasion in Yaounde, these were the post-penalty shootout scenes of celebration . . .

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8:06 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Hosts Cameroon, who are five-time AFCON champions, and second only to record seven-time winners Egypt in the titles context, would have definitely loved to be the other half of tonight's showdown.

Instead, The Indomitable Lions had to settle for third place (bronze) after a remarkable comeback saw them claw back from three goals down into the final 20 minutes to force a penalty shootout against Burkina Faso on Saturday.

Cameroon ended their campaign with 14 goals, eight of which were scored by their talismanic captain and the tournament's topscorer Vincent Aboubakar. 

Burkina Faso, on the other hand, returned home with nine goals - but also hoping to quickly forget a night that was a repeat of 1998 when they surrendered a huge lead in the third place match to end up losing in a penalty shootout.

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8:03 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

The Africa Cup of Nations trophy is the symbol of national football team supremacy and tonight, it is there for the taking.

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8:00 pm

Senegal 🇸🇳 v Egypt 🇪🇬  (10pm)

Mohamed Salah vs Sadio Mane

If you have just woken up from a month-long deep sleep, you would be forgiven for rubbing your eyes again upon seeing the two Liverpool teammates on opposing ends of a football game.

But yep, that's what we have tonight ... so let's help you up and walk you through this revelation.

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