What could Sadio Mané be thinking as he walked the dozens of meters separating the center line from the penalty spot, Sunday February 6, at the end of the African Cup of Nations final? To his missed penalty at the very start of the game against this same Mohamed Abou Gabal? In the lost final, two and a half years earlier against Algeria? In the final lost by his selection when he was only a ten-year-old kid in 2002? Or, to this concept hackneyed by all football observers: to think of nothing and to empty?
At the time of offering the title so coveted by an entire country, Sadio Mané rushed forward, straight look and quick run, to propel a powerful strike on the right of the Egyptian goalkeeper. Heroic so far, Gabaski has been unable to do anything except see his defeat. An inescapable time then finally unthinkable, the fate of this final did not stop changing over the course of an unbreathable match (0-0, 4-2 on pens).
Physically fresher than their Egyptian opponent, who went through three extra times to reach the final, Senegal pushed for a long time without managing to find the fault. The game could have changed for the first time, in the fourth minute, when Senegal had obtained a penalty. A first opportunity missed by Sadio Mané, leader and hero of the country since the start of the competition. After this failure, the Lions of Teranga did not lower the flag.
During the first period alone, on three occasions, three dangerous balls, centered in the Egyptian penalty area, did not find a taker. To this incessant pressure Egypt responded with their master to play, Mohamed Salah who, after a grandiose soloist number, fished when concluding (43rd). A first period much livelier than the second, once again marked by missed opportunities on the Senegalese side.
Go go go EDOU MENDY #teamsenegal @ChelseaFC pic.twitter.com/WT4DeWHbMn
— Football (@FootballSenegal) February 6, 2022
While one might think that the weight of the time spent by Egypt on Cameroonian lawns in recent days was going to have an impact on the game, nothing happened. On the contrary, it was even Egypt who finished the game better then the extra time, still carried by their goalkeeper.
Between Senegalese exhausted from hitting against a wall on one side and gargled Pharaohs, rising in power over the course of the match, the fate of this meeting seemed to have changed sides. Once again. As if it were already written in advance. But while Mohamed Abou Gabal was expected during this penalty shootout, it was Edouard Mendy who put on the savior costume, stopping two Egyptian shots, to give Sadio Mané a second chance. And now, what is he thinking?