Seven days after Senegal’s victory over Morocco in the Africa Cup of Nations final, El Malick Diouf, the Senegalese defender, reflected on one of the key moments of the match. After a controversial foul on Brahim Diaz, the West Ham player shared the exchange he had with goalkeeper Édouard Mendy at the moment of the penalty. The African champion admitted he didn’t anticipate the VAR intervention or the outcome of that decisive action.
“When he saved the penalty, we didn’t even try to celebrate. As for the penalty, I didn’t think the referee would go to VAR, but well… I don’t know, even if there was a penalty, we were lucky he missed it,” said the Senegalese defender.
According to El Malick Diouf, it was Édouard Mendy’s calmness that reassured him in that tense moment.
“What reassured me was Édouard. I thanked him too. I prayed for him because for me, he’s the best goalkeeper in the history of African football,” he added.
The defender explained that Mendy had no doubt about his ability to save the penalty.
“There was no doubt. He reassured me by saying he was going to save the penalty. And he went for it. When he saved it, we didn’t even try to celebrate,” El Malick Diouf continued in an interview with Canal+.
For him, the penalty save was crucial and allowed the Lions of Teranga to take control. “Once the penalty was saved, we knew we were going to win. They had doubts. And we knew it was the moment to score,” the player concluded.
