Senegal wins Africa Cup after unprecedented thriller, Moroccan dream becomes nightmare in final that was full of chaos
It was a certainty that the final of the African Cup of Nations between home country Morocco and Senegal would be spectacular, but what we saw in extra time on Sunday evening defied all imagination. Brahim Diaz became the anti-hero by terribly weakly missing a decisive penalty – with a panenka – after a delay of about twenty (!) minutes, after which Senegal took the final win in extra time through Pape Gueye. What a drama in Morocco. The dream seemed so close, but turned into a true nightmare…
Aiko Tanaka is a combat sports journalist and general sports reporter at Archysport. A former competitive judoka who represented Japan at the Asian Games, Aiko brings firsthand athletic experience to her coverage of judo, martial arts, and Olympic sports. Beyond combat sports, Aiko covers breaking sports news, major international events, and the stories that cut across disciplines — from doping scandals to governance issues to the business side of global sport. She is passionate about elevating the profile of underrepresented sports and athletes.
