Senegal lifted their second Africa Cup of Nations title in Rabat after a most dramatic final on Sunday night.

By Neel Shelat

They had never won the coveted trophy before 2022, but the Lions of Teranga have made the final in three of the last four editions of the tournament, and are enjoying a golden age of Senegalese football.

The conclusion of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations was beyond unpredictable. Senegal emerged victorious after one of the most dramatic incidents in a major tournament final anywhere in the world, as Brahim Díaz waited over 15 minutes before attempting a panenka for his last-minute penalty, sending it right into the waiting arms of Édouard Mendy.

The controversy surrounding the referee’s call and Pape Thiaw’s decision to take his players off the pitch naturally dominated all headlines, unfortunately at the expense of what was an incredibly high-quality match up to that point. Either side would have been a worthy winner, but in the end, Senegal might feel even more vindicated for overcoming what they perceived to be a gross injustice.

Either way, the Lions of Teranga put together an incredible tournament campaign, winning all but one match and conceding just twice en route to the title. This was no fluke; Senegal are now unbeaten in 30 competitive fixtures and have not lost an AFCON match since the 2019 final. They went on to win their first title in the subsequent edition, and only lost out on penalties in the Round of 16 in the Ivory Coast last time around.

This run should be made even more impressive by the fact that Senegal had never won a major international tournament prior to 2021, having only reached one AFCON final in the past. The Lions of Teranga have finally found the formula for sustained success, as they have expertly negotiated several factors to produce a winning machine.

Managing a generational shift

The key players of Senegal’s 2021 AFCON-winning squad — the likes of Sadio Mané, Idrissa Gana Gueye, Kalidou Koulibaly and Mendy — were all around 30 years old at the time. So, the fact that their teammates were also around the same age should have been a cause for concern, especially considering what happened to the country’s previous golden generation. The Lions of Teranga reached both the AFCON final and World Cup quarter-finals in 2002, but they would only reach the Cup of Nations knockouts twice more in the following 15 years, missing out entirely on the world’s biggest stage.

The class of 2022 crucially got their hands on the elusive major trophy at the second time of asking, but the next challenge was to sustain that success. Four years on, it seems they have managed to do just that, all while seamlessly enacting a generational shift. While the aforementioned quartet remained integral to their most recent title, the rest of the XI around them almost entirely changed. The likes of Pape Gueye, Ismaïla Sarr and Pape Matar Sarr grew from fringe squad members to key contributors in these four years, while others such as Krépin Diatta, Lamine Camara, Nicolas Jackson and Iliman Ndiaye have been added to the fold.

This trend looks set to continue as four of Sunday night’s starters were under 23 years old, while 17-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye became the youngest-ever player to take to the field and win an AFCON final. Senegal now always seem well prepared to usher in the next generation, thanks in no small part to the greater talent pool that is available to them.

Domestic development balanced with diaspora recruitment

Changes to FIFA regulations in recent years have opened up greater possibilities for foreign-born footballers to represent different national teams to which they have familial or residential links. As a result, many teams have tapped into their diaspora to strengthen their squads and accelerate their rise up the rankings.

Morocco, as it turns out, are a great example of this kind of approach. The Atlas Lions have risen from 43rd in the 2020 FIFA rankings to a projected all-time high of 8th in this week’s forthcoming update. They have called up a number of foreign-born players of Moroccan heritage in the intervening years, most notably including AFCON 2025 top-scorer Brahim Díaz, who was a Spanish youth international and only accepted his first Moroccan call-up in 2024. In fact, seven of their starters in the final were born and raised in Europe.

Senegal, for their part, had six French-born players in their XI including goalkeeper Mendy, three of the back four and game-winner Pape Gueye. However, some core members of the side had also been developed on home soil. The Lions of Teranga’s recent rise has been powered in no small part by the first generation of graduates from some of the country’s top academies, which were established in the early 2000s. Perhaps most notable among them is Génération Foot, the Dakar-based academy which entered a historic partnership with French club FC Metz in 2003.

Ismaïla Sarr, Lamine Camara and Pape Matar Sarr are some notable graduates who featured in Morocco, but the best player to have ever come through their ranks undoubtedly is Mané. The two-time AFCON champion and player of the tournament can surely now stake a claim to being the greatest footballer his country has ever produced, but his story might never have begun if not for Génération Foot. Born and raised in a village by the name of Bambali some 400 kilometres away from the capital, he eventually worked his way to the academy before moving on to Europe. The rest, as they say, is history.

Other academies have played their parts too. Diambars is quite well-known as it was founded in 2003 by Senegalese-born Arsenal legend Patrick Vieira. They can claim some credit for the success of Idrissa Gana Gueye, the Lions of Teranga’s all-time record appearance-maker. Young left back El Hadji Malick Diouf, who locked down Mohamed Salah and Díaz in the last two matches, developed through two academies in Dakar before making his way to the English Premier League via Norway and Czechia.

Consistency and tactical solidity

Besides setting up for success right from the grassroots level, Senegal have crucially also ensured that their main team is well run. Unlike most of their rivals on the continent, they have resisted the temptation to chop and change coaches after almost every major tournament and instead reaped rewards for backing long-term strategies.

Aliou Cissé, the Lions of Teranga’s captain at the 2002 World Cup, was the chief architect behind their recent rise as he coached the side for almost a decade from 2015 onwards. He was eventually replaced by Pape Thiaw, who was effectively promoted after a couple of years in charge of Senegal’s all-African-based second team.

Not a lot changed on the pitch as Thiaw preserved a largely similar tactical setup that emphasised possession and control, maintaining consistent roles for key players like Mané. While he has sometimes been criticised for being a bit too conservative with his selections, he can easily point to the results to justify his decisions.

Having stolen Morocco’s thunder in Rabat, Senegal’s next goal might be to emulate or even better their Atlasian brothers’ success on the world stage. They have been drawn into what is being regarded as the group of death at the World Cup alongside France and Norway, but the Lions of Teranga have no reason to fear anyone who stands in their way.

(Images via IMAGO)

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