From freshman to champion! Senegal, the king of The New Branch Africa, has been waiting for 60 years to realize its dream

Reporter Han Bing reported that the world's highest ranked team finally won the championship! This African Cup of Nations, which is full of twists and turns and controversies from the beginning of the bid to the course of the event, finally has a normal ending. Despite the group stage and knockout rounds, the "Tranga Lions" with Mendy, Koulibaly, Gaye and Mane as the core are still all the way through, reaching the final for the third time in the history of the African Cup of Nations, and finally winning the Gold Cup for the first time as desired, becoming the 15th title in the 65-year history of the African Cup.

This is the biggest national achievement for this small West African country with a population of only 16 million and the world's 149th largest GDP per capita. After Zaire in 1974, the Africa Cup of Nations championship has been monopolized by traditional powerhouses, with the only exception in Zambia in 2012. In this final penalty defeat to Salah-led Egyptians, who have won the African Cup of Nations seven times, Senegal's performance is well deserved, and it is in Cameroon to win the cup, but also to end the 2002 penalty loss to Cameroon.

After winning the championship, Senegal has become a sea of joy, and the small West African country that has experienced the double torment of poverty and the new crown epidemic deserves this glorious moment that may be the only glorious moment that can bring them to the attention of the world.

After 60 years of waiting, the dream has finally come true

Senegal became a FIFA member in 1962 and only became a non-FA member the following year, missing the 1962 Africa Cup of Nations. Senegal's first international match after independence was against Dahomey (today's Benin) on 31 December 1961, which is why the Senegalese media and fans emphasized "60 years of waiting" after winning the championship. After the team's top star Mane won the title for the "Tranga Lions" in a penalty shootout last Sunday, the whole of Senegal fell into a sea of joy. Two years ago, the nightmare of the team being beaten by Algeria in the final finally came to an end, and the famous African football journalist Komugisha said the voice of the Senegalese: "Success may be late, but it will come." ”

The Senegalese government immediately announced a national holiday on Monday to welcome the return of the champions and parade the champions in the capital, Dakar. Senegalese President Sal ended his foreign visit early, personally welcomed the Senegalese team back at the airport, and held an official reception on Tuesday to receive the Senegalese champion team. The president's speech represented the voice of all fans in this small West African country: "What a great game! What a great team! You did it! This is the best moment of football in Senegal, you have elevated Senegal's national pride and congratulations to our heroes! ”

Since Sunday night, Senegal's capital, Dakar, has been a sea of revelry. Monday's champions parade brought the atmosphere to a climax, with hundreds of thousands of fans sitting on the roof of the car, singing and dancing through the streets of the capital and firing fireworks into the sky. People even climbed the roofs of buildings next to the street and scaffolding on the construction site to better witness the champion team. As coach Aliou Cisse raised the trophy on the roof of the champions bus, the elated fans let out deafening cheers. The local European and American media have lamented that such a large-scale street carnival is unprecedented, even if Senegal reached the top 8 of the 2002 World Cup, it is not as grand as it is today.

Senegal, which became independent from the French colony in 1960, was previously well known in sports and other areas of the world, only the Paris-Dakar car rally, but that is not the pride of Senegalese sports. Like most African countries, football is the most popular sport in Senegal. From the beginning of the first official match after independence, senegalese have waited for a full 60 years. In 2002 and 2019 they passed the champions twice, the first time was a penalty loss to Cameroon, the second time was a small loss of 1 goal to Algeria, and the third time finally got their wish.

"Africa first", but not three

Senegal ranked first in Africa (20th) in the world before the tournament, surpassing other title-winning favourites such as Morocco, defending champions Algeria, Tunisia, Nigeria, Egypt, Cameroon, Ghana and Côte d'Ivoire. Therefore, Senegalese fans have high hopes that the team will once again hit the championship after two years. Although Senegal scored only 1 goal in 3 games of the group stage and was forced into a white roll twice, the knockout team finally found the feeling of being the first in Africa, scoring 8 goals in the 3 knockout matches before the final, and it is important to know that the entire African Cup of Nations knockout round (final and pre-third round) only scored 26 goals in 14 games.

As the number one star in the team, Mane has been under great psychological pressure. He made his fifth appearance in the Quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations six years ago, when he missed a penalty that led to the team being eliminated by Cameroon. In the final, in the opening 7 minutes, he missed a penalty that may have brought the team earlier victory, but he resisted the pressure during the penalty shootout and scored the winning goal. Compared with two years ago, Senegal is now more mature, and it can be seen from last year's World Cup Africa Qualifier Round of 40 that the team has made great progress in both offensive and defensive ends.

ESPN believes that Senegal's victory this time finally proved its supremacy in African football with a trophy. 20 years ago, Senegal lost to Cameroon on penalties in the African Cup of Nations final, but the South Korea-Japan World Cup team reached the quarter-finals that year, drawing the best record of African teams in the World Cup finals. Senegal has been an integral part of African football for the past 20 years, producing African footballers (Diouf and Sane), as well as players who can win the five major leagues and Champions League trophies (Sane, Mende, Saar, Gaiye), just one African trophy to "crown" Senegalese football in the golden age of the 21st century.

Before the final, Senegal was the only team in the history of the African Cup of Nations to reach the final twice but never won the championship, and many players in the team had participated in the final two years ago, and the psychological pressure of their final could be imagined. Fortunately, the Senegalese players overcame all this. Senegal did not perform well in the group stage, scoring just one goal in three games and being forced into a blank streak by The World No. 129 and missing a major general due to the COVID-19 pandemic. But solid defence became the cornerstone of Senegal's success, conceding only two goals in seven games and not conceding a goal for 417 minutes at one point.

For Senegalese fans suffering from COVID-19 and poverty, this title is too important. Despite the government's quarantine measures, it is still impossible to stop enthusiastic fans from venting their happiness on the streets and rooftops. Now, fans can't wait to see the Tranga Lions stand out in the African World Cup qualifiers in March and get their tickets to the Qatar World Cup finals. Senegal reached the top 8 for the first time in the World Cup 20 years ago, and this time everyone's goal is still two words - to surpass.