West Ham United defender El Hadji Malick Diouf has revealed how his Senegal teammate Edouardy Mendy saved him from disaster in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations.
WIW Sport cover comments from the full-back today, made to Canal +. He was reminiscing on the penalty save in the final that ultimately, saved his bacon.
Senegal were 1-0 winners over Morocco in the final of the Africa Cup of Nations last month following one of the most memorable finals of all time.
Their 1-0 win was secured via a 94th minute striker from Pape Gueye that came after the drama in normal time.
First came a Senegal goal being ruled out in controversial circumstances, before Morocco were then handed a penalty in the 98th minute. The West Ham man was at the centre of that, fouling Brahim Diaz to give the penalty away.
That led to incredible scenes as head coach Pape Thiaw instructed Senegal’s players to leave the pitch.
They returned 17 minutes later to see Diaz’s Panenka effort saved by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Gueye then scored the winning goal to seal a second triumph in five years for the Lions.
That was huge relief to the West Ham man, who admits his teammate provided reassuring words beforehand.
“Edou told me: ‘Malick, lift your head, I’m going to save the penalty,” he said.
“At that moment, I thought he was just going to reassure me… but well, I wasn’t thinking straight, I was thinking about all the Senegalese people, about my family. It was difficult, and he really reassured me.
“When he saved it, we didn’t even try to go to the goalkeeper to celebrate. It was the moment to win. We knew we were going to win the match after that penalty. For them, it was a moment of doubt; for us, it was the moment to score.
“I thank Édou. I’m speechless. For me, he’s the best goalkeeper in African history. There’s no question about it.”