‘I'm glad he did it,’ Iliman Ndiaye comments on Brahim Diaz's Panenka in the 2025 AFCON final

The Senegalese believes that the Moroccan's attempt was disrespectful.

The comments continue after the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final between Senegal and Morocco on 18 January in Rabat. The turning point in this electric match, which saw Senegal crowned champions, was the penalty missed by the Moroccan striker.

Brahim Diaz attempted a Panenka penalty, which was coolly saved by Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. Three weeks after the final, Iliman Ndiaye, the Senegalese international who plays for Everton, spoke to The Times about the Moroccan's failed attempt. For him, it was obvious that it was disrespectful.

"I felt there was a bit of disrespect. I'm not saying he wanted to disrespect us, but either that or he wanted to show off after everything that had just happened. I don't know if I would have taken the shot. But you were minutes away from becoming king in your country. They hadn't won it in so many years and all you had to do was take your chance and score. I thought to myself: Yeah, he's going to miss, he's going to miss. And then he did miss. And then we didn't react. We carried on. So, I don't understand why he did that, but I'm glad he did. I think after that, we knew we were going to win."