African Football Discussion Thread Current Topic: 👉 AFCON 2025/2026

[BitBakerr1]

I was so happy yesterday that Senegal was the country that lifted the Africa cup of nations, it was again clear that the Morocco people bribed the referee to be in their side same thing they did to Nigerias but thank God their plans didn’t work out. I see some people saying the coach won’t have asked the players to come out from the beach that he did a wrong thing to me what he did was not wrong because how will the referee cancel there goal and few minute later gave Morocco a penalty, I’m so happy they missed the penalty and then Senegal scored and then won the match, if Morocco lifted the Africa cup of nations it would’ve been the worst tournament in history, God is surely wonderful and justice is served. A very Big congratulations to Senegal for winning the trophy they deserve it.

[Rruchi man]

I used to have so much respect for Hakimi as a good player that's dedicated to his job but I lost the respect I have for Hakimi after he threw Mendy's towel away.

The Moroccans completely embarrassed themselves at the end after hosting such a beautiful tournament. The ending, which would have been praises for Morocco as a good host, turned into bad host, the players, the ball boys on the field, the supporters, etc. I watched so many videos of them trying to snatch away the towel of Mendy in goal, the throwing of plastic containers on the goal scorer as he celebrated, etc. It was shameful.

The headline would have been "Senegal walking off the field" and facing sanctions for their sanctions; thanks to Mane, they won it and made a better headline.

I expect CAF to address the Moroccans for their poor display of sportsmanship.

[Slow death]

Senegal deservedly won the cup, albeit in extra time.
The referee's decision to disallow Senegal's goal in regular time was a complete scandal. After this disallowance, he awarded a penalty to Morocco. Some Senegalese players left the field.
Mane called his teammates back from the dressing room, and the match resumed. Mane's very clever handling of this unfavorable situation will not be forgotten for a long time.
Senegal returned to the field. Brahim Diaz attempted a Panenka penalty, but the goalkeeper saved it.
Senegal won the match 1-0 in extra time and became the AFCON champion.

Hopefully, AFCON will be held every four years from now on. There isn't much interest in the cup, but holding it every two years negatively affects African footballers. It has become another low-quality cup.

Africa continues to have the same old problems in football: when a certain country hosts a competition, that country becomes the favorite to win the tournament, as if it were a reward for having spent money organizing the event. Because of this thinking, referees tend to heavily favor the team from the host country.

Unfortunately, all African countries share this same narrow-minded mentality. Senegal won deservedly, but I hope the day will come when we don't have favoritism towards the team that hosts the tournament, and also that African football officials schedule competitions during the holidays when the major European leagues are on break.

[Mabebe]

Morocco had the game practically handed to them with that penalty, but Brahmin Diaz ruined their chances with that panenka. I didn’t think I would see a penalty worse than Chukwueze’s in the same tournament.

Diaz has to be the most hated footballer in Morocco. He has done the dumbest thing ever by mocking Senegal with panenka while his team was not even leading the game. RIP for his career. His pen is gonna be the moment in the football all of moroccan will never forget.

It's very understandable as to who they will hate him but it will only last for some time and they will get over it but for now they will be very angry at him. It was very foolish of him to take that kind of a penalty in this kind of stage. Didn't he realise he was in a final and the match was still at no goal with less than half an hour to play. If he had scored that goal, they will have been looking for ways to protect it instead of struggling to equalise after Senegal scored. He will be hating himself even for now for that kind of silly decision of his.

[Justbillywitt]

I was so happy yesterday that Senegal was the country that lifted the Africa cup of nations, it was again clear that the Morocco people bribed the referee to be in their side same thing they did to Nigerias but thank God their plans didn’t work out. I see some people saying the coach won’t have asked the players to come out from the beach that he did a wrong thing to me what he did was not wrong because how will the referee cancel there goal and few minute later gave Morocco a penalty, I’m so happy they missed the penalty and then Senegal scored and then won the match, if Morocco lifted the Africa cup of nations it would’ve been the worst tournament in history, God is surely wonderful and justice is served. A very Big congratulations to Senegal for winning the trophy they deserve it.

The tears of Moroccans were my joy yesterday as Senegal lifted the trophy in their midst. That they hosted the tournament doesn't give them the exclusive right to win it. We all saw their shenanigans attitudes from the knockout stages down till the final. I have never seen a team that was this pampered like CAF did with Morocco. If CAF want Morocco to win Nations cup they should just gift it to them and not stress other nations to come play at all. I am still enjoying the pains and agonies of the people of Morocco.

[MArsland]

I was so happy yesterday that Senegal was the country that lifted the Africa cup of nations, it was again clear that the Morocco people bribed the referee to be in their side same thing they did to Nigerias but thank God their plans didn’t work out. I see some people saying the coach won’t have asked the players to come out from the beach that he did a wrong thing to me what he did was not wrong because how will the referee cancel there goal and few minute later gave Morocco a penalty, I’m so happy they missed the penalty and then Senegal scored and then won the match, if Morocco lifted the Africa cup of nations it would’ve been the worst tournament in history, God is surely wonderful and justice is served. A very Big congratulations to Senegal for winning the trophy they deserve it.

So much drama in the last minute of the second half, Morocco mentality was shattered after Brahim missed the penalty. IMO Brahim Diaz will definitely be under mental stress in the next few days. Senegal is grateful to have Mane because that's where a player's mentality is shown. Lose or win, you still have to show the world you still intend to play until the end. The miracle came from the feet of Pape Gueye, it really touched me how they revived the mentality that was down. The most beautiful offering in Mane history for Senegal has been recorded.

[Kelward]

I was so happy yesterday that Senegal was the country that lifted the Africa cup of nations, it was again clear that the Morocco people bribed the referee to be in their side same thing they did to Nigerias but thank God their plans didn’t work out. I see some people saying the coach won’t have asked the players to come out from the beach that he did a wrong thing to me what he did was not wrong because how will the referee cancel there goal and few minute later gave Morocco a penalty, I’m so happy they missed the penalty and then Senegal scored and then won the match, if Morocco lifted the Africa cup of nations it would’ve been the worst tournament in history, God is surely wonderful and justice is served. A very Big congratulations to Senegal for winning the trophy they deserve it.

The tears of Moroccans were my joy yesterday as Senegal lifted the trophy in their midst. That they hosted the tournament doesn't give them the exclusive right to win it. We all saw their shenanigans attitudes from the knockout stages down till the final. I have never seen a team that was this pampered like CAF did with Morocco. If CAF want Morocco to win Nations cup they should just gift it to them and not stress other nations to come play at all. I am still enjoying the pains and agonies of the people of Morocco.

Senegal, got a deserved win against Morocco, but I can say that the two teams gave their best, they managed to reach the final of AFCON which was not an easy hurdle. I don't blame the Senegalese team that heeded to their coach and staged a walkout, to me it was a mind game which worked to their favor because if they didn't do that to dampen the morale of the Moroccan, team maybe Morocco, would have won that game. Senegal, came back with a renewed uplifting spirit and won the game which is the most important thing. I wouldn't say that I'm happy that Morocco, lost the game because they came so far but somebody hat to win which is Senegal. It doesn't matter now whether the referee favored Morocco, to win or not the final result was that they lost.

[knowngunman]

The Moroccans completely embarrassed themselves at the end after hosting such a beautiful tournament. The ending, which would have been praises for Morocco as a good host, turned into bad host, the players, the ball boys on the field, the supporters, etc. I watched so many videos of them trying to snatch away the towel of Mendy in goal, the throwing of plastic containers on the goal scorer as he celebrated, etc. It was shameful.

The headline would have been "Senegal walking off the field" and facing sanctions for their sanctions; thanks to Mane, they won it and made a better headline.

I expect CAF to address the Moroccans for their poor display of sportsmanship.

Everything about this year AFCON is embarrassing from the beginning until the end yesterday. The officiating has been terrible right from the group stage to knock out stage and the final yesterday. We can do better as African, the host nation must not always win this tournament as we want to make it a tradition for the host nation to win by all means. The last AFCON was hosted by Ivory Coast and they ended up winning it after qualifying from the group stage as best loser. I see nothing wrong with that thou because it was somehow fair compared to this year edition. The partiality was too obvious for everyone to see. All the drama was to distract Mendy but Karma is real and you can not get away with everything without paying for it. Congratulations to Senegal for not giving up despite the challenges they faced.

[Uhde]

True... Senegal scores a legit winner disallowed for a soft foul. Seconds later, Morocco gets a VAR penalty for a foul on Diaz. Senegal gets so mad they walk off the pitch! It took a phone call from the King to get them back out there to finish the match. Never seen anything like it 

The whole game has gone sour.
Tension is already on the rise and sadly, it will take a good stroke of luck for Senegal to win this one.
It reminds of the last FIFA World Cup finals where Argentina won. I am not making any inference but even blind person can read the handwriting already on the wall.

Everything that could possibly happen in a match happened tonight. It was a tactical war. Senegal tried to dominate with their physical power, while Morocco responded with pure technical skill. On Morocco’s penalty senegal keeper clearly violated the goal line rule. Under normal rules, that penalty should have been retaken. But honestly, after all that tension on the pitch, it takes some serious guts to cancel that goal or order a retake. Let's just say the referee survived the match and got out of there in one piece...

[KTChampions]

Diaz has to be the most hated footballer in Morocco. He has done the dumbest thing ever by mocking Senegal with panenka while his team was not even leading the game. RIP for his career. His pen is gonna be the moment in the football all of moroccan will never forget.

You're exaggerating the significance of one episode in a player's career. It's definitely not a turning point or anything like that. In a month, when we see the Champions League playoff battles, no one will remember it. Even all the scandals that surrounded the final will be forgotten in a month or two. There's a lot of speculation now about whether he deliberately missed the penalty (there was some sort of agreement for Senegal to return to the field), but I don't think so - it's easier to shoot past the goal than to rely on the goalkeeper's nerves.

[Fivestar4everMVP]

Diaz has to be the most hated footballer in Morocco. He has done the dumbest thing ever by mocking Senegal with panenka while his team was not even leading the game. RIP for his career. His pen is gonna be the moment in the football all of moroccan will never forget.

You're exaggerating the significance of one episode in a player's career. It's definitely not a turning point or anything like that. In a month, when we see the Champions League playoff battles, no one will remember it. Even all the scandals that surrounded the final will be forgotten in a month or two. There's a lot of speculation now about whether he deliberately missed the penalty (there was some sort of agreement for Senegal to return to the field), but I don't think so - it's easier to shoot past the goal than to rely on the goalkeeper's nerves.

Well, I did mentioned that speculation in my previous post as this is what many people seriously believed, that he deliberately choose to waste the penalty because he knew that they did not deserve that and that the referee on awarded them to penalty to make winning easy for them while he canceled the goal from the senagal side..

Moments ago, I asked myself what is football without some controversies like we saw in the finals? where is the excitement if things all go smooth all the time? Confusions like what we saw in the Afcon final gave many of us something to talk about and this is going to be definitely talked about until something happens to replaced this one,  maybe that will be in the premier league finals or the coming champion league haha 😂

[Marvelockg]

Senegal deservedly won the cup, albeit in extra time.
The referee's decision to disallow Senegal's goal in regular time was a complete scandal. After this disallowance, he awarded a penalty to Morocco. Some Senegalese players left the field.
Mane called his teammates back from the dressing room, and the match resumed. Mane's very clever handling of this unfavorable situation will not be forgotten for a long time.
Senegal returned to the field. Brahim Diaz attempted a Panenka penalty, but the goalkeeper saved it.
Senegal won the match 1-0 in extra time and became the AFCON champion.

Hopefully, AFCON will be held every four years from now on. There isn't much interest in the cup, but holding it every two years negatively affects African footballers. It has become another low-quality cup.

Africa continues to have the same old problems in football: when a certain country hosts a competition, that country becomes the favorite to win the tournament, as if it were a reward for having spent money organizing the event. Because of this thinking, referees tend to heavily favor the team from the host country.

This incident goes to support the fact that we are still far behind in terms of maturity and the ability to deal with things regardless of how it affects how emotional we are by the outcome of a game as this. hosting the Africans cup of nations and eventually getting to the finals is something that goes to show that as a nation, they are a football nation.

that during the last AFCON, ivory coast hosted it and won it does not in any way means that any nation that host the AFCON must always win the league. they had their chances to win the AFCON but could not take chances and allowed Senegal win over them. all these chaos are just a means to demarket AFRICA and nothing more because wether they like it or not, Senegal are the champions of Africa.

[LUCKMCFLY]

I'm very happy for Senegal and for Mané; they played a really good, very exciting match with many things to highlight. The truth is, for some it was justice, for others an irreparable failure because of the penalty, which for me was very poorly executed. You can't take a penalty to win with a Panenka-style penalty. However, I think Brahim won't do it again; it's all a learning experience.

[POPOLUV]

I was so happy yesterday that Senegal was the country that lifted the Africa cup of nations, it was again clear that the Morocco people bribed the referee to be in their side same thing they did to Nigerias but thank God their plans didn’t work out. I see some people saying the coach won’t have asked the players to come out from the beach that he did a wrong thing to me what he did was not wrong because how will the referee cancel there goal and few minute later gave Morocco a penalty, I’m so happy they missed the penalty and then Senegal scored and then won the match, if Morocco lifted the Africa cup of nations it would’ve been the worst tournament in history, God is surely wonderful and justice is served. A very Big congratulations to Senegal for winning the trophy they deserve it.

The tears of Moroccans were my joy yesterday as Senegal lifted the trophy in their midst. That they hosted the tournament doesn't give them the exclusive right to win it. We all saw their shenanigans attitudes from the knockout stages down till the final. I have never seen a team that was this pampered like CAF did with Morocco. If CAF want Morocco to win Nations cup they should just gift it to them and not stress other nations to come play at all. I am still enjoying the pains and agonies of the people of Morocco.

Senegal, got a deserved win against Morocco, but I can say that the two teams gave their best, they managed to reach the final of AFCON which was not an easy hurdle. I don't blame the Senegalese team that heeded to their coach and staged a walkout, to me it was a mind game which worked to their favor because if they didn't do that to dampen the morale of the Moroccan, team maybe Morocco, would have won that game. Senegal, came back with a renewed uplifting spirit and won the game which is the most important thing. I wouldn't say that I'm happy that Morocco, lost the game because they came so far but somebody hat to win which is Senegal. It doesn't matter now whether the referee favored Morocco, to win or not the final result was that they lost.

To be honest with you Morocco has the chance to have won the game yesterday but the moment Diaz.B  missed out the great opportunity given to them when the penalty that was awarded to them in the extra minutes of the game to win Senegal, that is the moment i know that Senegal is going to carry the trophy, it is a great achievement that Senegal players has archived  and which it is very certain that in every football competition, one team most go home with the cup to celebrate their victoray.

[Son Of Blockchain (SOB)]

I was so happy yesterday that Senegal was the country that lifted the Africa cup of nations, it was again clear that the Morocco people bribed the referee to be in their side same thing they did to Nigerias but thank God their plans didn’t work out. I see some people saying the coach won’t have asked the players to come out from the beach that he did a wrong thing to me what he did was not wrong because how will the referee cancel there goal and few minute later gave Morocco a penalty, I’m so happy they missed the penalty and then Senegal scored and then won the match, if Morocco lifted the Africa cup of nations it would’ve been the worst tournament in history, God is surely wonderful and justice is served. A very Big congratulations to Senegal for winning the trophy they deserve it.

The tears of Moroccans were my joy yesterday as Senegal lifted the trophy in their midst. That they hosted the tournament doesn't give them the exclusive right to win it. We all saw their shenanigans attitudes from the knockout stages down till the final. I have never seen a team that was this pampered like CAF did with Morocco. If CAF want Morocco to win Nations cup they should just gift it to them and not stress other nations to come play at all. I am still enjoying the pains and agonies of the people of Morocco.

Senegal, got a deserved win against Morocco, but I can say that the two teams gave their best, they managed to reach the final of AFCON which was not an easy hurdle. I don't blame the Senegalese team that heeded to their coach and staged a walkout, to me it was a mind game which worked to their favor because if they didn't do that to dampen the morale of the Moroccan, team maybe Morocco, would have won that game. Senegal, came back with a renewed uplifting spirit and won the game which is the most important thing. I wouldn't say that I'm happy that Morocco, lost the game because they came so far but somebody hat to win which is Senegal. It doesn't matter now whether the referee favored Morocco, to win or not the final result was that they lost.

To be honest with you Morocco has the chance to have won the game yesterday but the moment Diaz.B  missed out the great opportunity given to them when the penalty that was awarded to them in the extra minutes of the game to win Senegal, that is the moment i know that Senegal is going to carry the trophy, it is a great achievement that Senegal players has archived  and which it is very certain that in every football competition, one team most go home with the cup to celebrate their victoray.

It's a well deserving victory by Senegal, despite the poor officiation they still managed to lift the trophy, kudos to Mane for showing true sportsmanship, he didn't allow the poor officiation of the referee which seemed like a robbery to discourage him but encouraged his teammates to step out of the dressing room after their coach told them to leave the pitch.
 Anyways I think CAF needs to do something about those refree cause they're very biased, the refree almost caused a chaos yesterday something that would've led to a potential fight between the both teams, congratulations to Senegal though.

[Btcdeybodi]

In the AFCON final match today we see Morocco and Senegal's have faced each other, and we have already felt the depth of strength of these two teams in this tournament. Morocco defeated my country Nigeria on penalties in the semi-final of the AFCON, which allowed them to reach the final and on the other hand, Senegal has also been able to play very well. So we can definitely expect the final match today to be very exciting and both teams will face many challengers, apparently, Morocco is my favorite to win this tournament because this team has experience.

I wanted Senegal to win this AFCON just because of the efforts of Sadio Mane in making sure that his country reach the finals but Morocco is the host nation and they have more of the crowd to cheer them up so they will be the more confident team than Senegal so i share same sentiment with you that Morocco will win the AFCON. Morocco won the toughest team of the tournament which is Nigeria so they have more tactics to outsmart their opponent. When the AFCON matches started, Nigeria was tipped by many as the possible winner of the AFCON but Morocco stopped them in the semis. For Morocco to defeat Nigeria despite that the result was determined by penalties but they are likely going to replicate same performance against the Senegal team.

It's a game and it should be that the best should win but the way the officials are officiating this game they don't want Senegal to win and whole thing is just obvious, and even if they are the host nation it does not automatically make them the winner they have to play well in other to win but this they are looking for ways to just claim the title at all cost. And Nigeria was removed and since then everyone was not really paying attention to the league again, and the players had to work out , but they have resumed and now let's see if anything will. Change and fifa needs to do something about things like because it is not even correct at all because from what we are seen corruption have gotten to football also, and the same time, I pray Senegal wins the game.

Honestly, the poor officiating in this AFCON is really bad especially from the semi finals matches till the finals. Maybe, Morocco wanted to win the AFCON using corruption but am glad that their plan failed them woefully. Look at the drama that came up in the final match yesterday, i think that some referees really needs to be fined and sanctioned because what was it that happened yesterday. It just showed that African football still have a long way to go and sometimes i do wonder when African Football will meet the standards of the westerners. In Nigeria versus Morocco match, there were many irregularities and also in Morocco versus Senegal final match there were also scenarios of manipulation by officials. To br honest, after what i saw in the AFCON matches, i don't rate Morocco as the best team in Africa anymore.

[Wakate]

I think the the super eagles have done well in this AFCON tournament and they deserve to be given a thumbs up, although they didn't reach the final but winning the third place is not easy. They have found their rhythm in this AFCON and I believe that from here on their future matches will be more coordinated because they understand themselves better. Everybody likes success and that is why we are celebrating our eagles despite not giving us gold, if they had fumbled and were eliminated in the first round we definitely won't be cheering for them now.

The super eagle has never done well since all these while and I don't know why you are praising them for getting a third position.
Super eagle claimed to be the giant of Africa but we are not seeing anything like giant in them.
We wished them good luck in their endeavors and I will like to congratulate Senegal for becoming the eye of AFCON.

[PremiumcryptoHub]

In the AFCON final match today we see Morocco and Senegal's have faced each other, and we have already felt the depth of strength of these two teams in this tournament. Morocco defeated my country Nigeria on penalties in the semi-final of the AFCON, which allowed them to reach the final and on the other hand, Senegal has also been able to play very well. So we can definitely expect the final match today to be very exciting and both teams will face many challengers, apparently, Morocco is my favorite to win this tournament because this team has experience.

I wanted Senegal to win this AFCON just because of the efforts of Sadio Mane in making sure that his country reach the finals but Morocco is the host nation and they have more of the crowd to cheer them up so they will be the more confident team than Senegal so i share same sentiment with you that Morocco will win the AFCON. Morocco won the toughest team of the tournament which is Nigeria so they have more tactics to outsmart their opponent. When the AFCON matches started, Nigeria was tipped by many as the possible winner of the AFCON but Morocco stopped them in the semis. For Morocco to defeat Nigeria despite that the result was determined by penalties but they are likely going to replicate same performance against the Senegal team.

You were right, Senegal has already managed to win the AFCON trophy and it is true that one of Senegal's most reliable players, Sadio Mane, worked tirelessly to get this team to the final because I noticed that he scored a goal in the semi-final match against Egypt and that was the winning goal.Yesterday's final match of the AFCON tournament was very dramatic. In fact, at one point I thought the match might be decided by penalties, but a Moroccan player missed the penalty. However, I congratulate the Senegal team as they have managed to win this prestigious trophy for the second time. It must be said that both teams played well in the final match of the African Cup of Nations League but it surprised us that Senegal became more aggressive after 90 minutes, which allowed them to score a goal.

[Silikiem]

I was so happy yesterday that Senegal was the country that lifted the Africa cup of nations, it was again clear that the Morocco people bribed the referee to be in their side same thing they did to Nigerias but thank God their plans didn’t work out. I see some people saying the coach won’t have asked the players to come out from the beach that he did a wrong thing to me what he did was not wrong because how will the referee cancel there goal and few minute later gave Morocco a penalty, I’m so happy they missed the penalty and then Senegal scored and then won the match, if Morocco lifted the Africa cup of nations it would’ve been the worst tournament in history, God is surely wonderful and justice is served. A very Big congratulations to Senegal for winning the trophy they deserve it.

I think CAF really needs to do better to avoid future occurrence of what happened yesterday in that Afcon final game between Host nation Morocco and Senegal, it was shambolic and pure disgrace to Africa Football. Right from the inception of this years Afcon in Morocco, every decision taken by the referee who is in charge of any game involving Morocco is always to Favour the Moroccan side, right from their group stage games is either they will award them a penalty just so they could win. I’m not saying that the Moroccan side hasn’t played well enough to win their matches but the officiating was really awful just to favour Morocco. Well, i think there needs to be some investigation by CAF on that referee if truly what he did was intentional just to favor Morocco or if hare has been paid by the Moroccan. If they don’t carry out any investigation based on what the public is saying about the referee then it’s obvious that CAF also have a hand in it and I believe that they will learn their lessons to be free and fair so as to avoid further disgrace in Subsequent Afcon mantches because from what Senegal did yesterday most nations might start doing same whenever they notice any biased officiating just to Favour one side.

[Finebone]

I think the the super eagles have done well in this AFCON tournament and they deserve to be given a thumbs up, although they didn't reach the final but winning the third place is not easy. They have found their rhythm in this AFCON and I believe that from here on their future matches will be more coordinated because they understand themselves better. Everybody likes success and that is why we are celebrating our eagles despite not giving us gold, if they had fumbled and were eliminated in the first round we definitely won't be cheering for them now.

The super eagle has never done well since all these while and I don't know why you are praising them for getting a third position.
Super eagle claimed to be the giant of Africa but we are not seeing anything like giant in them.
We wished them good luck in their endeavors and I will like to congratulate Senegal for becoming the eye of AFCON.

Your sentiment here about our super eagles team are true, they have done nothing tangible to be deserving of any praise, they didn't qualify for the upcoming world cup and they can't even do better than than their previous outing in the afcon by qualifying for the finals, which they did last time. Though their was an improvement in the way they now play, if you compare them to their world cup qualifying games, but praising them for finishing third place is not necessary, because our super eagles team should be doing better.

Concerning the controversy yesterday in the Morocco vs Senegal, I am really ashamed of what happened yesterday because caf disgrace us by their actions of trying to make it a must that the host nation must win, so it's because of that I love the fact that their plan failed, congratulations to Senegal for winning this year afcon.