Afcon 2021: Real Madrid legend Zidane sends message to Senegal and Egypt after 'intense' final

Former Real Madrid coach Zinedine Zidane has congratulated Senegal and Egypt for their display in the final game of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

It ended 0-0 after 120 minutes of football in Yaounde but Senegal came out on top with a 4-2 victory on penalties.

Liverpool’s Sadio Mane scored the final spot-kick to seal an historic result for Aliou Cisse’s men after Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy saved Egypt’s fourth attempt.

Zidane who guided Real Madrid to three Uefa Champions League titles as a coach, described Sunday's encounter at the Olembe Stadium as 'an intense’ game.

“120 intense minutes of football and fair play,” Zidane wrote on Instagram.

“Congratulations to Senegal and congratulations to Egypt for their performance.”

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Meanwhile, Egypt assistant coach Diyaa El-Sayed – who covered for suspended head coach Carlos Queiroz – is confident the Pharaohs will bounce back from their latest defeat for their next challenge.

The seven-time African champions will face Senegal again, this time in the Fifa World Cup play-offs that will take place in March.

The winner of the two-legged fixture will take one of the five slots to represent Africa in Qatar later this year.

“This Egypt team have a bright future, and although we were determined to go right to the end, this [tournament] is still some kind of success for us,” El-Sayed said.

“We’ll continue going until we secure World Cup qualification. We want to thank God that Egypt have a strong team in place, that the country are proud of them, and the next steps will be better for us.”