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Senegal erupts with joy after Western Conference game on Sunday night African national football team defeated Morocco Won the African Cup of Nations 1-0.
Across the capital dakarFireworks lit up the sky, horns sounded, and people of all ages, dressed in national colors and holding Senegalese flags, chanted slogans and danced in the streets.
“Our team has proven that we are the best in Africa,” said Pape Ndiaye, a young man waving a Senegalese flag in the Parcelles Assainies neighborhood, a working-class suburb of Dakar. “It was a well-deserved win. The Lions fought like real lions,” he added, referring to the national team’s nickname, the Lions of Telanga.
Just minutes earlier, Senegal had dramatically defeated Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations championship. Fierce final in Rabatthe capital of Morocco.
Pep Gueye scored in extra time to help the Lions of Teranga beat hosts Morocco 1-0 in a chaotic match that at one point saw fans trying to storm the pitch and Senegal’s players walked off in second-half stoppage time in protest at a penalty decision.
“Senegal showed its quality and explained why it is the best team in Africa,” said Mamadou Alpha Diallo, 26, an education student. “The team showed maturity in a difficult game. The referee played with our emotions. We were under pressure and exhausted, but Senegal held on.”
This is the second time Senegal has won the Africa Cup of Nations. Telanga Lions won the 2021 edition after taking on Egypt in a penalty shootout.
Senegalese President Basilou Diomaye Faye praised the football team on public television.
“The joy is indescribable,” he said. “We went through a whole range of emotions. We saw the people on the field. The Patriots fought for our honor. This is a win for the Lions, first and foremost a win for the coaching staff and a win for the entire Senegalese people.”
Faye promised financial incentives for the national team and declared Monday a public holiday for all Senegalese to celebrate.
As he spoke, hundreds of young people gathered on the grounds of Dakar’s Cheikh Anta Diop University, eager to take advantage of the celebratory atmosphere.
“I will not sleep tonight, we are celebrating until the early hours of the morning. No Senegalese will sleep tonight,” said doctoral student Sidy Sylla. “With the World Cup approaching, the world needs to know that Senegal is no longer a small team; it is a formidable team.”