Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy said after his side lifted the Africa Cup of Nations title last night that while "a few things happened" before the penalty was awarded in regular time, what mattered was “we won the championship.”
Mendy saved a Panenka penalty taken by Morocco’s Brahim Díaz in the dying moments of the game, a spot-kick that sparked controversy and conflict right before the end of regular time.
"He tried a Panenka, but I stayed rock-solid on my line. We kept the team in the game, and I helped my side in that moment. Yes, he wanted to score, but I saved his shot in the end. I knew we needed to put the controversy behind us," Mendy stated.
Before the Moroccan forward took the penalty, Senegal’s players had stormed back to the dressing room in anger after the referee disallowed a Senegal goal. Sadio Mané then persuaded the Senegal players to return to the pitch. Mendy reflected on the conversations between the players during that time.
“What did we say to each other? That’s a secret between us. We went through it all together, and we came back together—that’s what counts, and we can be proud of that tonight.”
“We won’t say anything on the spur of the moment. But things still happened, and in the end, what matters is that football won out.”
“Morocco have been waiting for this trophy for more than 50 years. They had all the advantages and were playing at home. But we responded in our own way, and tonight we celebrate Senegal’s victory.”
“Honestly, it was an extremely tough match. We were determined to win here, in this beautiful country with such passionate fans. We gave it our all and never slacked off. Senegal are African champions, and we’re over the moon.”
"Before the game, we made up our minds to win this final and bring the AFCON trophy home. Millions of Senegalese people are happy for this, and we’re going to savour this moment," Mendy added.
