DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal erupted in joy Sunday night after the West African country’s soccer team defeated Morocco 1-0 to win the Africa Cup of Nations.
Across the capital Dakar, fireworks lit up the sky, horns blared and people of all ages chanted and danced in the streets, dressed in national colors and holding Senegalese flags.
“Our team has shown that it is the best in Africa,” said Pape Ndiaye, a young man waving the Senegalese flag in the Parcelles Assainies neighborhood, a working-class suburb of Dakar. “It’s a well-deserved victory. The Lions fought like true lions,” he added, referring to the national team’s nickname, Teranga Lions.
Just minutes earlier, Senegal defeated Morocco in the championship game of the Africa Cup of Nations in dramatic fashion. The heated final was played in Rabat, Morocco’s capital.
Pape Gueye scored in extra time for the Teranga Lions to beat host Morocco 1-0 in a chaotic game which at one point saw fans trying to storm the field and Senegal’s players walking off the field to protest a penalty decision deep into second-half stoppage time.
“The Senegalese team showed its strength and why it is the best team in Africa,” said Mamadou Alpha Diallo, a 26-year-old education student. “The team showed maturity in a difficult match. The referee played with our emotions. We were stressed and exhausted, but Senegal persevered.”
It’s Senegal’s second Africa Cup win. The Teranga Lions won the 2021 edition after a penalty shootout against Egypt.
President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal praised the soccer team on public television.
“The joy is indescribable,” he said. “We experienced a whole range of emotions. We saw men on the field. Patriots fighting for our honor. This is a victory for the lions, first and foremost, for the coaching staff, and for the entire Senegalese people.”
Faye promised financial rewards for the national team and announced that Monday would be a public holiday to allow all Senegalese to celebrate.
As he spoke, hundreds of young people were gathered on the grounds of the Cheikh Anta Diop university in Dakar, eager to take advantage of the celebratory mood.
“I’m not sleeping tonight, and we’re going to celebrate until the early hours. No Senegalese person will sleep tonight,” said Sidy Sylla, a Ph.D student. “With the World Cup coming up, the world needs to know that Senegal is no longer a small team; it’s a team to be feared.”