The first Africa Cup of Nations to be played in Cameroon since 1972 saw Senegal win their first-ever title.
Liverpool star Sadio Mane scored the winning penalty kick, as Senegal beat Egypt 4-2 on penalty kicks after the final finished 0-0 after 120 minutes.
[ MORE: AFCON 2021 scores, results ]
Mane missed a penalty kick early in the final, but he was the hero for The Lions of Teranga.
Mohamed Salah was left in tears, as he and his Egypt teammates just came up short after battling to get to penalty kicks for the third time in the knockout rounds as all four of their games in the latter stages of the tournament went to extra time.
A tournament ripe with Premier League players and prospects holds sway over an entire continent for nearly a month and it was sensational.
There has not been a repeat winner or finalist at AFCON since Egypt won at home in 2006 before claiming the 2008 tournament title in Ghana and the 2010 edition in Angola.
Algeria beat Senegal 1-0 in 2019 to triumph in Egypt and become the seventh nation to win multiple AFCONs, following Democratic Republic of Congo (1968, 1974), Ivory Coast (1992, 2015), Nigeria (1980, 1994, 2013), Ghana (1963, 1965, 1978, 1982), Cameroon (1984, 1988, 2000, 2002, 2017), and Egypt (1957, 1959, 1986, 1998, 2006, 2008, 2010).
Below you’ll find the tables, schedules, how to watch Africa Cup of Nations live info, and outright odds for the winner.
2021 Africa Cup of Nations final
Final: Sunday, Feb. 6
Senegal 0-0 Egypt (Senegal win 4-2 on penalty kicks)
Africa Cup of Nations final live - By Joe Prince-Wright
Wonderful scenes from the Senegal players after the trophy lift, and this party will go on long for a long, long time across Senegal.
Senegal's trophy parade celebrations after winning the Africa Cup of Nations! What scenes in Dakar 🏆🇸🇳 pic.twitter.com/lXuHM2TTFE
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 8, 2022
The scenes in Dakar when Mane’s penalty went in to win Senegal the trophy are incredible, and Senegal president Macky Sall has declared Monday as a national holiday, so the celebrations will continue.
This from the centre of Dakar when Mané scored the winning pen is amazing.
— Daniel Austin (@_Dan_Austin) February 6, 2022
Football is the best.pic.twitter.com/ptZiY2KLK3
#AFCON 2021: Celebrations in #Dakar after Sadio Mane's side beat Mohamed Salah's #Egypt to win their first ever Africa Cup of Nations crown. #Senegal's President Macky Sall declared Monday a public holiday to celebrate the national football team's victory
— Voxafrica TV (@voxafricauk) February 7, 2022
Source AFP pic.twitter.com/NqREsLGIv1
It's party time on the streets of Dakar! 🎉
— Sky Sports Football (@SkyFootball) February 7, 2022
Senegal fans celebrate winning the Africa Cup of Nations! 🏆 pic.twitter.com/LRdASkNkok
C’EST COMPLÈTEMENT FOU CE QUI SE PASSE A DAKAR !! JE N’AI JAMAIS VU ÇA DE MA VIE 🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳🇸🇳 pic.twitter.com/hinyruldTR
— Cadavre Ambulant 🇸🇳⭐️ (@M3Pique) February 6, 2022
Streets of Dakar moments after Senegal won their first ever African Cup of Nations Championship. Football is such a force of joy in our chaotic world. Have a night Senegal fans 🏆 🇸🇳 pic.twitter.com/4GNnJt6DCL
— roger bennett (@rogbennett) February 6, 2022
Kalidou Koulibaly: “Today I think we deserved to win this title. This team is magnifique! It was a tough game, a tough tournament. We made it with our team, our power, our goalkeeper who is the best in the world and we win the title. We can be happy!”
What a lovely moment. As the Africa Cup of Nations trophy is raised for the first time by Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, manager Aliou Cisse and match-winner Sadio Mane embrace in the background. #TeamSenegal #AFCON2021 #LFC pic.twitter.com/Cx5lCIQHrH
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) February 6, 2022
Edouard Mendy: “I am super proud. For me and for the [penalty] shooters, they did really well. I did my best and I am super happy!” And Mendy then sprints off to celebrate! Epic.
Some great scenes post-game as individual awards are dished out. Party atmosphere as the trophy is handed out in Olembe Stadium, and the Senegal players are dancing, crying and genuinely absolutely delighted. They are history makers!
⚽️ Vincent Aboubakar wins Golden Boot for most goals
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) February 6, 2022
🏆 Sadio Mane wins Player of the Tournament
🥇 Edouard Mendy wins Goalkeeper of the Tournament#TeamSenegal #TeamCameroon #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/z4UWl5eWbR
Amazing scenes of celebration but also devastation at the final whistle. Tears of joy from Senegal. Tears of despair from Egypt. Both sets of players embracing.
👏 Sadio Mane, moments after scoring the winning penalty kick to win the Africa Cup of Nations for Senegal for the first time in their history, goes over and consoles his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah. Classy. #LFC #TeamSenegal #TeamEgypt #AFCON2021 pic.twitter.com/GHuwv3O84N
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) February 6, 2022
Senegal 4-2 Egypt: SADIO MANE SCORES THE WINNER, HE SLAMS IT HOME. SENEGAL WIN THE AFRICA CUP OF NATIONS FOR THE FIRST TIME IN THEIR HISTORY.
🏆 Sadio Mane with the penalty to win the #AFCON2021 for #TeamSenegal after he missed one during the first half of the final!
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 6, 2022
🇸🇳 Congratulations @FootballSenegal! 🎉pic.twitter.com/JByNq2tT9G
Senegal 3-2 Egypt: Bamba Dieng with a lovely penalty. Lasheen misses.
Senegal 2-2 Egypt: Gabaski saves, as he stops Bouna Sarr’s effort. Huge roars! Then Egypt score.
Senegal 2-1 Egypt: Diallo scores and Abdelmonem hits the post and it comes back out.
Senegal 1-1 Egypt: Koulibaly and Zizo both score.
PENALTY KICKS! It is going to penalties to decide the winner of the Africa Cup of Nations.
SAVE! Gabaski again with a stop. Dieng with a superb low drive from distance which almost sneaks in but Egypt’s goalkeeper pushes it wide. 5 minutes to go. And then Mendy makes a save at the other end, but spills the ball from the resulting corner.
Half time in extra time. Still 0-0. Gabaski still making saves. Rinse. Repeat.
SAVE! Gabaski with another top save as he pushes Dieng’s header away. Great cross by Ciss down the left. Diallo then headed a corner wide.
CHANCE! Substitute Bamba Dieng played in by Mane but his low shot is saved by (guess who?) Gabaski.
The first opportunity of the EXTRA TIME! 😱
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 6, 2022
📺 Watch the #AFCON2021 final #TeamSenegal vs #TeamEgypt live now on beIN SPORTS XTRA and FB Live!#SENEGY 🏆pic.twitter.com/llXBGHWQuY
FULL TIME and now EXTRA TIME! Senegal 0-0 Egypt. That was all very tight and tense at the end. Now, another extra 30 minutes to try and decide which nation will be the champions of Africa.
Less than 10 minutes to go. Still 0-0. Chances are drying up for both teams. It’s getting in to ‘don’t lose’ territory now...
It is all getting very tense now and there are a lot of stoppages and fouls. A few substitutions have been made by both managers. Egypt boss Carlos Queiroz, who has to watch from the stands due to his suspension, is frantically pushing the talk button on his walkie-talkie and yelling into it. Somebody is listening to him, right?
When we reach 90 minutes, someone find out how long the ball was in play for. #AFCONFINAL
— Carl Anka (@Ankaman616) February 6, 2022
SECOND HALF! Senegal continue to look more dangerous as Gabaski makes a good stop down low inside the six-yard box. What a tournament he’s had after coming in during the knockout rounds and saving Eric Bailly’s penalty in the last 16, two Cameroon penalties in the semifinal shootout win and now Mane’s spot kick in the final. incredible.
HALF TIME: Senegal 0-0 Egypt - What a wild first half. From Mane’s penalty miss to Salah being denied by Edouard Mendy, Premier League stars have been heavily involved. Senegal look very dangerous every time they go forward, but can they finish? This seems set up for an Egypt smash-and-grab...
A comedy moment as the referee tries to tell Salah he can referee the match if he wants as he hands him his notebook and yellow cards. Salah declines.
SAVE! Mohamed Salah with an incredible run but Mendy denies him. Egypt continue to launch into some hefty tackles to try and stop Senegal.
Jurgen Klopp may have a few issues to sort out when Salah and Mane get back to Liverpool’s training ground...
👀🔥 Did Mo Salah tell his goalkeeper where Mané's shot was going⁉️😱🇪🇬
— beIN SPORTS USA (@beINSPORTSUSA) February 6, 2022
📺 Watch the #AFCON2021 final #TeamSenegal vs #TeamEgypt live now on beIN SPORTS XTRA and FB Live!#SENEGY 🏆 pic.twitter.com/ml8NlRx0qS
PENALTY SAVE! After Salah told Gabaski a few things about where Mane was going to put his penalty kick, Gabaski saves it! Amazing drama early in the final.
PENALTY AND DRAMA! After just five minutes Senegal have been awarded a penalty kick as Mohamed Abdelmonem took out Saliou Ciss in the box. There was a lengthy delay as Ciss received treatment.
During that break for the injury, Mohamed Salah went up to Egypt goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal (better known as Gabaski) and was telling him where Sadio Mane would put the penalty kick. His Liverpool teammate Mane took exception to that and wandered over. He then appeared to tell Gabaski where he was going to put the penalty kick and pointed to the right corner. Salah then tried to tell the goalkeeper something else as Mane walked away.
😱 Just before Sadio Mane had his penalty kick saved by Egypt goalkeeper Abou Gabal, his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah was giving Egypt's GK plenty of advice.
— Joe Prince-Wright (@JPW_NBCSports) February 6, 2022
Mane then walked up and pointed where he was going. It was then saved. Wow.#LFC #AFCON2021 #TeamEgypt #TeamSenegal pic.twitter.com/Pdnn2uz8e7
KICK OFF! We are off in the final! And Senegal have started brightly...
How to watch Africa Cup of Nations live in USA
Kickoff dates: Jan. 9 - Feb. 6
Location: Cameroon
TV Channel: BeIn Sports (select games)
Stream: BeIn Sports Xtra
Live updates, commentary via NBC Sports
2021 Africa Cup of Nations group tables
* denotes Round of 16 place sealed
Group A
Cameroon - 7 points*
Burkina Faso - 4*
Cape Verde - 4*
Ethiopia - 0
Group B
Senegal - 5*
Guinea - 4*
Malawi - 4*
Zimbabwe - 3
Group C
Morocco - 7*
Gabon - 5*
Comoros - 3*
Ghana - 1
Group D
Nigeria - 9*
Egypt - 6*
Guinea-Bissau - 1
Sudan - 1
Group E
Ivory Coast - 7*
Equatorial Guinea - 6*
Sierra Leone - 2
Algeria - 1
Group F
Mali - 7*
Gambia - 7*
Tunisia - 3*
Mauritania - 0
2021 Africa Cup of Nations (in 2022) group results
Sunday, January 9
Cameroon 2-1 Burkina Faso,
Ethiopia 0-1 Cape Verde
Monday, January 10
Senegal 1-0 Zimbabwe
Morocco 1-0 Ghana
Guinea 1-0 Malawi
Comoros 0-1 Gabon
Tuesday, January 11
Algeria 0-0 Sierra Leone
Nigeria 1-0 Egypt
Sudan 0-0 Guinea-Bissau
Wednesday, January 12
Tunisia 0-1 Mali
Mauritania 0-1 Gambia
Equatorial Guinea 0-1 Ivory Coast
Thursday, January 13
Cameroon 4-1 Ethiopia
Cape Verde 0-1 Burkina Faso
Friday, January 14
Senegal 0-0 Guinea
Morocco 2-0 Comoros
Malawi 2-1 Zimbabwe
Gabon 1-1 Ghana
Saturday, January 15
Nigeria 3-1 Sudan
Guinea-Bissau 0-1 Egypt
Sunday, January 16
Gambia 1-1 Mali
Tunisia 4-0 Mauritania
Ivory Coast 2-2 Sierra Leone
Algeria 0-1 Equatorial Guinea
Monday, January 17
Cape Verde 1-1 Cameroon
Burkina Faso 1-1 Ethiopia
Tuesday, January 18
Malawi 0-0 Senegal
Zimbabwe 2-1 Guinea
Gabon 2-2 Morocco
Ghana 2-3 Comoros
Wednesday, January 19
Egypt 1-0 Sudan
Guinea-Bissau 0-2 Nigeria
Thursday, January 20
Ivory Coast 3-1 Algeria
Sierra Leone 0-1 Equatorial Guinea
Gambia 1-0 Tunisia
Mali 2-0 Mauritania
Round of 16
Burkina Faso 1-1 (8-7 PKs) Gabon
Nigeria 0-1 Tunisia
Guinea 0-1 Gambia
Cameroon 2-1 Comoros - 10-man visitors start with left back in goal vs hosts
Senegal 2-0 Cape Verde - Mane scores beauty, subbed out with possible concussion
Morocco 2-1 Malawi - Both teams score stunners as underdogs can’t hold on
Ivory Coast 0-0 Egypt - Egypt win 5-4 on penalty kicks as Mohamed Salah scores winner
Mali 0-0 Equatorial Guinea - Equatorial Guinea wins 6-5 in penalties
Quarterfinals
Saturday, Jan. 29
Burkina Faso 1-0 Tunisia
Gambia 0-2 Cameroon
Sunday, Jan. 30
Egypt 2-1 aet Morocco -- Salah stars again in Ballon d’Or case-boosting performance
Senegal 3-1 Equatorial Guinea -- Mane, Kouyate, Sarr all score in win
Semifinals:
Wednesday, Jan. 2
Burkina Faso 1-3 Senegal
Thursday, Feb. 3
Cameroon 0-0 (1-3 PKs) Egypt
Third-place:
Saturday, Feb. 5
Third place: Burkina Faso 3-3 Cameroon (Cameroon win 5-3 on penalty kicks)
Final:
Sunday, Feb. 6
Senegal 0-0 Egypt (Senegal win 4-2 on penalty kicks)
Africa Cup of Nations odds and ends (single-game odds provided by our partner, PointsBet)
Senegal: +120
Egypt: +300
Draw: +175
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