Brahim Diaz ended the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations as the tournament’s top scorer, but he was not celebrating when the final whistle blew in Rabat.
The Morocco forward missed a decisive late penalty before Senegal went on to secure a 1-0 victory after extra time, breaking home hearts in one of the most chaotic finals in AFCON history.
With the score level deep into added time, Congolese referee Jean-Jacques Ndala awarded Morocco a spot-kick after being sent to the pitchside monitor to review a challenge by El Hadji Malick Diouf on Diaz from a corner kick.
Ndala had initially waved away Morocco’s appeals, prompting visible anger from Diaz, but VAR officials advised the referee to review the incident. After watching the replay, Ndala changed his decision and pointed to the spot in the 98th minute.
Senegal players walk off the field during AFCON 2025 final
The call triggered furious protests from the Senegal players and coaching staff, particularly as it came just minutes after Senegal had seen a goal ruled out for a soft foul by Abdoulaye Seck on Achraf Hakimi at the other end.
Senegal head coach Pape Bouna Thiaw ordered his players to leave the pitch in protest, and the majority of the Senegal squad followed him down the tunnel, but Sadio Mane remained and later convinced his teammates to continue.
Play was halted for more than 10 minutes as officials attempted to persuade Senegal to return, with stadium tension rising sharply as home supporters anticipated the decisive moment.
Brahim Diaz misses penalty as Panenka goes wrong
Eventually, the Senegal players emerged from the tunnel and the match was allowed to resume, with Diaz stepping up to take the delayed penalty in the 114th minute.
Rather than opting for power, Diaz attempted to finish with a dinked Panenka straight down the middle, but his effort was weak and comfortably caught by goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
The miss was so costly that the E4 commentary team even speculated whether Diaz might have missed on purpose. But his devastated reaction — and the fact he had kissed the ball before striking it — made such a suggestion clearly ridiculous.
Instead of celebrating a historic home triumph, Morocco were left stunned as the final moved into extra time with the score still locked at 0-0.
Senegal took full advantage of the momentum shift, and just four minutes into extra time, Pape Gueye produced a brilliant strike to break the deadlock.
That goal proved decisive, as Senegal defended resolutely for the remainder of extra time to secure the AFCON title despite late pressure from the hosts.
Despite the devastating miss, Diaz still finished AFCON 2025 as the tournament’s Golden Boot winner with five goals, ending the competition ahead of Egypt’s Mohamed Salah and Nigeria’s Victor Osimhen, who both finished on four.
None of those players found the net beyond the quarter-finals.
AFCON 2025 Golden Boot final standings
| Goals | Player | Team |
|---|---|---|
| 5 | Brahim Diaz | Morocco |
| 4 | Mohamed Salah | Egypt |
| Victor Osimhen | Nigeria | |
| 3 | Riyad Mahrez | Algeria |
| Amad Diallo | Ivory Coast | |
| Lassine Sinayoko | Mali | |
| Ayoub El Kaabi | Morocco | |
| Ademola Lookman | Nigeria | |
| Pape Gueye | Senegal | |
| Sadio Mane | Senegal |
Salah and Osimhen’s blanking in Saturday’s third-place play-off went a long way to securing Diaz’s place at the top of the scoring charts.
That status was eventually confirmed in Rabat, but it will provide little comfort after his horrific miss in front of an expectant home crowd.
