Sadio Mane Named AFCON 2021 Best Player Of The Tournament

Readmedia February 7, 2022 3 min read

The Liverpool star Sadio Mane was named the championship’s best player after playing a key role in the Lions of Teranga’s victory.

Sadio Mane of Senegal has been named the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Most Outstanding Player (AFCON 2021 Best Player) after leading the Lions of Teranga to victory at Yaounde’s Olembe Stadium.

Mane scored the game-winning penalty shootout goal in Senegal’s victory over Egypt, capping off a 0-0 draw after 120 minutes.

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The Liverpool star was also impressive throughout the tournament, scoring three goals and assisting on two others.

Overall, he has been directly involved in nine (six goals, three assists) of Senegal’s last 14 goals (64 percent) at the biennial African football showpiece, scoring (2) or assisting (2) in each of his last three matches.

Mane and Senegal win the championship.

Aliou Cisse’s men won Group B with five points after scoring one goal and conceding none in a group that included Guinea, Malawi, and Zimbabwe.

They defeated Cape Verde 2-0 at the Kouekong Stadium in Bafoussam, with Mane and Bamba Dieng scoring.

Senegal defeated Equatorial Guinea 3-1 in the quarter-finals, advancing to the semi-finals against Burkina Faso.

The West Africans defeated the Stallions 3-1, with Mane, Famara Diedhiou, and Cheikhou Kouyate all scoring to advance to the final. Here though, they won 4-2 in a thrilling shootout in which Mohamed Abdelmonem and Mohanad Lasheen both missed their kicks.

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Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal, who saved two penalty kicks, was named the final’s best player.

Cameroon’s Vincent Aboubakar won the competition’s Golden Boot with eight goals for the Indomitable Lions. Who advanced to the semi-finals before being eliminated on penalties by the Pharaohs.

In addition, with five goals, Karl Toko Ekambi was the man closest to Aboubakar at the top of the scoring charts.

After keeping five clean sheets in Cameroon, Edouard Mendy was named the tournament’s top goalkeeper.

Prior to the final, Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly expressed Senegal’s desire to become African champions after losing the 2019 edition final to Algeria.

“This is my first Africa Cup of Nations final; I couldn’t play the final in the previous edition. This frustrated me but I had confidence in my teammates in 2019,” Kalidou Koulibaly