Senegal players celebrate victory after the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final. dpa

Senegal beats Egypt in AFCON final on penalty kicks

By Adam Stites | Last updated Feb 6, 2022 5:23 PM ET

Senegal are the champions of Africa after defeating Egypt in penalty kicks to win the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Sunday. It's Senegal's first time ever winning AFCON, while Egypt was denied an eighth win.

The two teams played to a scoreless tie, including extra time Sunday, but it was Senegal that applied most of the offensive pressure in the match.

Just a few minutes into the match, Senegal was awarded a penalty kick after Saliou Ciss was taken down inside the box. But Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal was able to deflect away Sadio Mané's shot after a little advice from Mané's Liverpool teammate, Mohamed Salah.

Did Mo Salah tell his goalkeeper where Mané's shot was going⁉️

Watch the #AFCON2021 final #TeamSenegal vs #TeamEgypt live now on beIN SPORTS XTRA and FB Live!#SENEGY pic.twitter.com/ml8NlRx0qS
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 6, 2022

Gabal managed to keep all eight of Senegal's shots on goal out of the net, but he only stopped one of Senegal's five penalty tries. Egypt only made two of its four tries to seal the deal for Senegal.

Egypt and Senegal will meet again for a pair of matches in March to decide which team earns a spot in the 2022 World Cup.

Adam Stites

Adam Stites is a Southern California native who lives in a new state every three months. He’s perennially disappointed by both the Jacksonville Jaguars and Arizona State Sun Devils. His dog is named Ramsey after the best cornerback in the NFL

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