On 18th January, 2026, the much-anticipated final of the African Cup of Nations (AFCON) came to a successful conclusion. The competition, which started and ended with much anxiety, had Morocco, the North Africa host team, and the West African visiting Senegalese team featuring on the field of play. The stakes were high, considering that, since 2006, no hosting country has lifted the cup. Moreover, the Senegalese team has reached the final for three consecutive times. This, with the sterling performance of the team throughout the tournament, implies that the team is not a pushover and can never be taken for granted.
For a long time, I have not been a football enthusiast. After Nigeria's defeat by Morocco during the semi-final, I was indifferent about the third-place match Nigeria played against Egypt. However, I picked interest and suddenly watched the final to its logical conclusion, and that outing became a school where I learned salient and profound lessons of life.
The historic final was a dramatic outing. The Moroccan team had the rare opportunity to score through a penalty towards the 90th minute of the game but wasted it through Real Madrid's Brahim Diaz. While the goal scored by Ismaila Sarr, a Senegalese striker, was cancelled because of alleged body contact; a similar case led to the award of a penalty to the Moroccan team.
The emotional failure of the Senegalese coach, Pape Thiaw, was a lesson. At the peak of the penalty controversy, the coach ordered the Senegalese team to leave the pitch. That action amounted to emotional failure, failure of leadership, and a huge source of shame to the team he leads as well as African football. The lesson is that when someone's emotion is not kept in check, embarrassment becomes inevitable.
The emotional outburst of the head coach, who was appointed in 2024, was widely criticised. Although he led his team to a resounding victory, his failure to control his emotion is likely to attract suspension from the continental football regulatory authority, the Confederation of African Football (CAF). This means that those who seek opportunities to be great but do so with decorum or their victory will be tainted. To say the least, his time was worn, but his emotion failed woefully.
Sadio Mané, the captain of the Senegalese national team, deployed a high level of emotional intelligence. At the peak of the penalty saga, he maintained a commendable calm disposition and encouraged his teammates to return to the field of play. This singular act of maturity earned him great accolades. It showed leadership that eventually won him the title of man of the match!
The goalkeeper of the Senegalese team, Edouard Mendy, was another great lesson in virtues. He appropriated the currency of confidence, diligence, and wisdom, which collectively empowered him to save goals that would have sealed the fate of his national team. The lesson, therefore, is that virtues are currencies that serve personal and national interests, hence should be cultivated for the common good.
The audacity of courage is another lesson. The assertion that courage is the virtue that champions the course of right came true during the final. I understood that in life, a man's greatest fears are hardly established. It was feared that the Moroccan player who took the penalty would win until he lost it. The player was so confident and focused but disappointingly placed the ball into the hands of the Senegalese goalkeeper, to the utter disappointment of his team, fans, and country.
It happens! When the best is not good enough. The choice of the player to play the penalty was predicated on his track record. The smart player had carved a name for himself in European and Asian tournaments. He had at least 5 goals to his credit, but all these did not help. Sometimes, the best can disappoint. Great players like Lionel Messi, Ronaldo, our JJ Okocha, Mikel Obi, etc., have missed chances when their respective scores were needed the most.
Senegal's Pape Gueye, with proud jersey number 26, scored the winning goal four minutes into extra time. This gave his team their second AFCON title in 5 years - the 2021 (held in Cameroon 2022 edition). The lesson here is that it takes the input of someone to salvage a situation. Therefore, each member in every ecosystem can be that one person. Pape Gueye, the goal scorer, did it! Sadio Mané, the peace maker, did it! And Edouard Mendy, the penalty saver, did it. You can; I can; we can!
The final match reinforces the philosophy that it is not over until it is over. Millions of people around the world who watched the game were in tension until the end of the game. Those supporting Senegal were constantly in fear of the team's score being equalised; those supporting Morocco were afraid Senegal might sustain the one-goal defeat or add another score against the team. No one was at ease until the last whistle.
In the role of Jean-Jacques Ndala, the Democratic Republic of Congo-born referee, who officiated the AFCON final, comes a lesson in the fragility of peace and the need for caution to avoid loss of trust from the public. In the course of the game, it might have been suspected that the referee was biased in favour of Morocco, the host team. For example, the body contact that gave Morocco a penalty allegedly penalised Senegal. Rightly or wrongly, that situation became a trigger that unsettled the fragile peace of the match. It is commendable that the Senegalese team returned to complete the match; else, the action would have constituted a big dent on Africa's football and football generally, which is founded and sustained primarily on the principle of sportsmanship.
The psychology of the game. Although the Moroccan team had home advantage, the psychological effect of the narrative that no host country has lifted the cup in two decades injected the fear of losing in them. The team did not demonstrate full capacity as they often do in previous matches. The lesson here is that a person who appears psychologically defeated is unlikely to win any contest. It takes psychological stability to win!
One of the most profound lessons of the match, as asserted by one of the commentators, was that value doesn't lie in title; value doesn't lie in money; it doesn't lie in applause but the courage to rise from the ashes of a contradiction to emerge victorious. The end result of the final for Teranga Lions, is the triumph of doggedness!
In the entire competition, which climaxed with the finals, I saw the exhibition of three winning currencies - confidence, resilience, and wisdom. In addition, I also saw the triumph of decorum, courage, and emotional stability. There was a manifestation of a human tendency rooted in raw anger, but this was an isolated outlier that never overshadowed the glory of the final. The success of the tournament despite the challenge of the final only established one phenomenal fact: African football has come of age.
Congratulations, Africa, my continent!Congratulations Teranga Lions of Senegal for lifting the highly coveted trophy. Congratulations Morocco for hosting the and emerging second in the tournament. Congratulations Nigeria for the third place victory. The world anxiously looks forward to the next edition!
(Modest Thoughts with Ayuba, Yilgak'ha, 20th January, 2026; loisayuba420@gmail.com)
