‘We didn't understand what was happening,’ Idrissa Gana Gueye recalls the 2025 AFCON final between Senegal and Morocco

The midfielder looked back on the events that marked the final.

It was a final that will go down in the annals of African football. Won by Senegal, the 35th edition of the Africa Cup of Nations, whose final was contested between the Lions of Teranga and the Lions of the Atlas, was marked by incidents during the final.

Between controversial refereeing decisions, Senegal's decision to temporarily leave the pitch, Brahim Diaz's failed Panenka penalty and Senegal's victory, it was an eventful final. More than two weeks later, Idrissa Gana Gueye, Senegal's captain in the final, spoke to Onze Mondial.

"Throughout the match, there were lots of little things going on. The referee was blowing his whistle a lot against us. We knew that the only person who should talk to him was me, because I was captain for that match. I often went over to talk to him calmly, laughing and smiling, to try to understand and lighten the mood. We scored from a set piece, then the referee blew his whistle for a foul against us. Then he awarded them a penalty. And then everything went haywire. We wondered, “Are we playing or not?” The match was stopped for a while.

We didn't understand what was going on, we just wanted to win. We consulted with Sadio Mané. He went to talk to some of the older players, then came back. We talked to the coach, and Sadio said, ‘Let's go back and play.’ We started laughing among ourselves. We said, ‘Besides, he hasn't scored yet.’ And we kept laughing.