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The 32nd edition of the Africa Cup of Nations is over, with Algeria defeating Senegal 1-0 at the Cairo International stadium. The win saw the Desert Foxes lift her second title, and first since 1990.
A goal from Baghdad Bounedjah as early as the second minute was enough to settle the tie and ensure that Senegal’s quest for a long elusive maiden Nations Cup trophy would go on for at least another two years.
On a moderately cool evening in the land of the Pyramids, fans inside the stadium were treated to a colorful closing ceremony headlined by Ghanaian ‘Azonto’ crooner Fuse ODG before kickoff for the biggest trophy on the African continent.
Given the immense nature of the match and stakes involved, it was expected that the players would rise to the occasion, giving their all in a bid to cement their legacy.
However, as it happened; while some were able to rise to the occasion, other massively flattered to deceive. In this piece, we shall be highlighting the hits and flops from the tightly contested fixture.
#5 Flop - Alfred Gomis (Senegal)
Fans had barely recovered from the thrilling closing ceremony and were hardly in their seats when the first goal of the night was scored.
Bounedjah embarked on a daring run, drifting in from the right wing when he unleashed a speculative shot from just outside the box.
Unfortunately (from a Senegalese perspective), his somewhat weak shot deflected wickedly off the heel of Salif Sane and nestled into the back of the net.
At first read, it would be easy to feel sympathy for the goalkeeper and imagine he was helpless, as most deflections are usually quickfire events which leave the goalies with less than a fraction of a second to react.
However, this was not one of those scenarios, as a number of factors including the distance, weakness of the shot and favorable heights of the deflection meant that Gomis had more than enough time to judge the situation and react accordingly.
Rather shockingly, the SPAL goalkeeper elected to stand rooted to the spot and watch the ball droop over his head into the back of the net, seemingly feeling that it was going over the top of the post.
The error in Gomis’ judgment was visible in that in the immediate aftermath of the goal; his teammate Badou Ndiaye charged at him and queried why he did not do better with that ball and the enormity of his error was highlighted by the fact that this was Algeria’s only shot on target for the entirety of the match.
Major finals are not something that come around every day and thus, optimum concentration is extensively required for 90 minutes and beyond.
However, Gomis erred in his judgment for just a split second and that proved to be the thin line between success and failure for his nation.
#4 Hit - Rais M’bolhi
Earlier in the tournament, M’bolhi achieved the distinction of going over 400 minutes without conceding a goal, as he kept a clean sheet for the entirety of Algeria’s group stage matches as well as their round-of-16 clash with Guinea.
Even though he was finally beaten by Jonathan Kodjia in the quarterfinal, the 33-year-old had already laid his marker as one of the contenders to be named player of the tournament.
He went on to make a crucial penalty save in the shootout victory over Ivory Coast and also played a starring role as Algeria eliminated Nigeria in the semifinal.
He continued from where he left off in the showpiece event, pulling off a number of notable saves, particularly from Youssouff Sabaly in the second half when Senegal threw the kitchen sink at Algeria in a bid to force the equalizer.
For all their efforts however, Sadio Mane and co. could just not find a way past the Al-Ettifaq man, who kept his fifth clean sheet of the tournament.
For his efforts, M’bolhi was named the Man of the Match, as well as Goalkeeper of the tournament.
#3 Flop - Riyad Mahrez
It might seem a tad harsh to name the captain of the winning team as a flop, but the hard fact of the matter is that Riyad Mahrez contributed next to nothing in Algeria’s triumph against Senegal.
The 28-year-old is currently the second most expensive African player in history and one of the very best on the planet, and Algeria’s hopes heading into the tournament were mostly on his shoulders.
However, his performances prior to the final were above average at most; apart from the semifinal game with Nigeria where the Manchester City man squeezed the game by the scruff of the neck.
He would have been hoping to tow the same line against Senegal, but that failed to happen as the 28-year-old was nothing more than a spectator for most of the match, with Youssouf Sabaly keeping him quiet for the entirety of the fixture.
In total, Algeria were able to fashion just two shots for the entirety of the 90 minutes, with none coming off the boots of their skipper, and while he might have lifted a long awaited Nations Cup trophy, on a deeper reflection, Mahrez would know he did not do enough.
#2 Hit - Ismael Bennacer
Ismael Bennacer was once a part of the Arsenal setup, being deemed surplus to requirements and allowed to leave in 2017. Upon arriving Empoli in 2017, the 21-year-old boosted his stock and has courted the attention of a host of clubs across Europe.
He further boosted his reputation in this tournament, as he was nothing short of spectacular from the group stages right through the final.
It took him just two minutes to stamp his authority on the final, as it was his killer through ball that struck panic across the Senegalese back line and allowed Bounedjah to open the scoring.
For the remainder of the match, he discarded his more technical side and brought out his combative personality as Algeria sat back and defended their lead.
Bennacer was everywhere, winning tackles, tracking back, hassling opponents and ensuring the Senegalese midfielders did not get space and time on the ball in a performance which belied his calm and effeminate facade.
He led the way in the assists chart with three assists provided for teammates and was deservedly named the Player of the tournament.
#1 Flop - Chiekhou Kouyate
As a result of Kalidou Koulibaly’s yellow card in the semifinal victory over Tunisia, it meant that Alou Cisse headed into the final without the services of his defensive lynchpin.
The Napoli man is one of the best center-backs in the world and replacing him was always going to be a tall order, much less when you’re not a defender by trade and this was exactly the situation Cheikhou Kouyate found himself in.
The Crystal Palace man is a midfielder by trade, but found himself performing defensive duties against Algeria as a result of Koulibaly’s absence.
His in-congruence with the role manifested itself as early as the second minute, as Kouyate was drawn out of position to win a ball high up the field, with his natural playing style seemingly getting the better of him.
His failure to win that ball meant he was caught out of position and left his team short staffed at the back, with the result being that Senegal found themselves a goal down before they knew what hit them.
While goalkeeper Gomis should have done better to stop the deflected effort, the entire scenario would have been avoided if Kouyate had maintained his defensive discipline and his early error proved to be a very costly one that Senegal failed to recover from.
