African football legend Sadio Mane has become one of the biggest talking points in football, following Senegal’s dramatic extra-time win over 2025 Nations Cup hosts Morocco.
Mane is now a two-time African Cup of Nations (AFCON) winner with Senegal and a three-time finalist in the last four editions of the tournament.
Sunday’s final came with a lot of drama as Morocco had not lost a game in over 20 fixtures and had only conceded once throughout the competition.
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Senegal was also unbeaten ahead of the final, and knew they had the experience and mental fortitude to crown themselves continental winners yet again.
In the second half of the game, Senegal thought they grabbed the opener through Ismaila Sarr, but referee Jean-Jacques Ndala called for a foul in the build-up to the goal, ultimately ruling it out.
The final minutes of the game then presented the world with what many never saw coming.
Ndala called for a penalty following a VAR check for a foul on Moroccan star Brahim Diaz in the box, with only three minutes of injury time left on the clock.
There, in disbelief, Senegal coach Pape Thiaw called for his players to walk off the pitch into the tunnel, as fans from his nation began to go hostile in the stands against Moroccans, and vice versa.
Then came the decisive and bold moment from Sadio Mane.
A leader, a winner, but merely human, Mane went up to the experienced AFCON legend Claude Le Roy to ask for advice on what to do in the heat of the moment.
“What would you have done at this moment?” Mane said he asked Le Roy.
“I would come out and play, you never know what can happen”, Le Roy answered Mane.
Then, the Senegalese forward rushed to his teammates down the tunnel, urging them to come forward and play to avoid embarrassing Africa on a stage where the whole world was watching.
Sadio Mané remobilise les siens !
— M6 (@M6) January 18, 2026
Le capitaine sénégalais fait revenir ses coéquipiers sur la pelouse, la tension est maximale avant la suite ????
Suivez la finale de la #CAN2025 en direct sur M6 et M6+ : https://t.co/yva3jb9PXw pic.twitter.com/ozyjTZpQso
Morocco went ahead to take the penalty through Diaz, but the Madrid man failed to convert from 12-years in horrendous fashion, leading the game in the balance to extra-time.
In the opening four minutes of extra time, Pape Gueye found the back of the net for the Teranga Lions after Mane began an incredible run with the ball from his own half.
The match ended in a narrow 1-0 victory for Senegal, who nearly took a decision that would have embarrassed African football for decades and had them sanctioned.
Sadio Mane’s bold actions saved Africa, the game, his nation and most importantly, all the fans who travelled across continents to see the beautiful game played.
After the match, the 34-year-old winger revealed what went on and how this experience is going to shape him moving forward.
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“First of all I want to say thank you to everyone for the support, Senegalese people and all across the world. It was not an easy game, but at the end of the day we did it so we are really happy about it. The team decided not to play, but I asked some people, what do you think about it. Is it a good idea or not? I realized we need to play. Then I decided to go and bring everybody on the pitch” , he told DAZN after the game.
“It was the best thing to do because this is just football. I think the referee can make a mistake but sometimes can be just. We don’t know, we’re just in the game so people can judge this but I think whether penalty or not, the most important thing is about the people watching. To the world watching, it’s not fair to end the game like this. Win or lose doesn’t matter. The football should be great.”
The legacy of Sadio Mane has inspired the pride of African football, transforming setbacks into triumphs and ensuring the continent never gets close to facing global embarrassment again.
