By 
Sadio Mané will go down in history as the man who saved the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, as his teammates and coach where caught up in emotions, he managed to keep clam and led his team to victory.
Mané exhibited true leadership and sportsmanship during a very trying time for Senegal. Pressure was mounting for the team from Morocco, as they pressed on Senegal and were awarded a corner kick; from that, Senegal committed a fault on Morocco in the box trying to defend in the dying moments of the game. After checking VAR, the referee pointed to the penalty spot.
It was clear that should Morocco score, it was over for Senegal, the coach, in protest to the referee’s decision, instructed his players get off the field and leave the match. That would have brought the AFCON final to an unceremonious end, denting the image of African teams and their tournament. Emotions were high and the coach was visibly angry.
The rain was pouring down as if washing away the chances of the Lions of Teranga, seconds, minutes kept on slipping away as players were protesting and finally left the pitch for the change rooms. Sadio Mané however, talked some of the players out of it and convinced them to continue with the game, irrespective of the outcome. He ran to the changing room to fetch the rest of the team.
Through his influence, the team came back onto the pitch, the keeper took his position and Morocco got ready to take the penalty. Anxiety crept in, it was a nail biting moment, hearts were pumping gallons of blood per second, and Senegal could only hope for the best. Morocco took a shot at penalty and the Senegal keeper save it; it was like coming out of a comma, to them, they were already dead.
Not only did the Lions save the penalty, they went on to score the only goal of the game and won the game.
Had they given up, they would not have won the game. Had it not been for Mané, Senegal would never have lifted the trophy. Mané, when things were hopeless, he carried the beam of hope for his team, he remained calm in a difficult situation, he focused on what is important and was not carried away by emotions. He saved his team from a serious grave error, he led even the coach, he defied his orders for principle. He saved the image of the AFCON, he fought to last whistle, he never gave up, he kept hoping for the best.
Sadio Mané won the AFCON!
