Brahim Díaz misses Panenka as Édouard Mendy saves in Africa Cup of Nations final

Brahim Díaz failed to convert a Panenka penalty in the Africa Cup of Nations final after Édouard Mendy saved the kick, a moment that left Morocco devastated. The penalty was awarded after El Hadji Malick Diouf tugged Díaz's shoulder and Díaz went down, prompting the Democratic Republic of the Congo referee Jean-Jacques Ndala Ngambo to review the incident on the video assistant referee screen and point to the spot.

Díaz had previously scored from the spot against Mali in the group stage, and the decision was delayed for 15 minutes when Senegal walked off in protest before Sadio Mané persuaded them to return. Díaz kissed the ball, placed it on the spot and chose a Panenka, but he slowed in his approach and duffed the kick; Mendy caught it comfortably.

Mendy had saved a Panenka from Sergio Agüero five years earlier and rejected suggestions of collusion, saying: "Do you really believe that with one minute left, when a country has been waiting for this for 50 years … do you think we would agree on something?" He added: "He wanted to score, I get the credit for stopping it, that’s all.

Let’s put an end to this." Díaz finished the tournament as the Golden Boot winner with five goals, but the missed penalty is already the defining image of his campaign. His coach Walid Regragui said: "We stopped the match in the eyes of the world for 10 minutes. That didn’t help Brahim.

Key Topics

Sports, Brahim Díaz, Édouard Mendy, Senegal, Morocco, Sadio Mané