Top Managers in 2021 Africa Cup of Nations

In the African continent, football is one of the most popular sports among the people, and lots of young Africans, who usually live in poor conditions, use football as a chance to change their lives and also provide a better future for their families. Every two years, on the occasion of the African Cup of Nations, people in Africa enjoy some great football matches.

This year, in the middle of the Covid-19 pandemic, the 2021 African Cup of Nations was hosted by Cameroon, and in the end, it was Senegal who managed to clinch the title for the first time in their history and prove themselves as the AFCON best team 2022. Taking a look back at the tournament, in this article, we want to introduce the best managers who coached their team during the tournament. Stay tuned.

Best 2021 African Cup of Nations Coaches

In the 2021 African Cup of Nation, one thing that was surprising when it came to the managers was that this year, many national teams had opted to work with African football coaches rather than their European colleagues, and there were few teams with non-African coaches. To put up this list, we took a look at the tournament and sorted the list based on points per match achieved by these coaches. Now, stay tuned to get to know the top manager in the 2021

.

Kamou Malo – Burkina Faso

In the 2021 African Cup of Nations, which was held in

, one of the teams that managed to surprise many with their nearly perfect performances was Burkina Faso. Together with their manager Kamou Malo, who could well be considered as one of the lowest profile coaches, they achieved more than what many expected of them. The 59 years old coach Kamou Malo, who had spent his entire career in football, be it as a player or a coach in his home country, put together a rather young team with an average age of 25.5 years old and surprised many in the 2021 African Cup of Nations.

In their opener match in the tournament, Kamou Malo and his team faced the host nation Cameroon in the Stade d'Olembé on 9 January 2022. Burkina Faso started the match in the best possible way with a goal from Gustavo Sangare in the 24th minute, but it was Vincent Aboubakar who managed to equalize in the 40th minute, before adding another goal in the injury time of the first half to make it 2-1. Aiming to change the result, Kamou Malo made some tactical changes and substituted some players, but those did not help Burkina Faso avoid a 2-1 defeat against Cameroon.

Four days later, in the same stadium, Burkina Faso played their second match against Verde and thanks to a goal from Hassane Bandé in the 39th minute, Burkina Faso managed to win their first match in the tournament and thus increasing their chance of qualification for the knockout round. In their third group stage match against

, Kamou Malo's boys started the match better than their opponent with a goal from Cyrille Bayala in the 24th minute, but Ethiopia equalized the match in the second half, and it finished 1-1.

With four points in three matches, Burkina Faso and Kamou Malo ended the group stages in the second position behind Cameroon, which meant they had made it to the tournament's knockout stage. Malo's boys had to face Gabon from Group C in the round of 16. Just like their group stage matches, Burkina Faso started the match well. After missing a penalty in the 18th minute, Bertrand Traore scored a goal in the 28th minute, but just at the time when everyone thought that Burkina Faso had made it to the next round, an own goal from Adama Guira in the 91st minute meant that the match would go to the extra time.

In the two 15 minutes of extra time played both teams were unable to add another goal to the score sheet and the fate of the match had to be decided in the penalty shootout. After a long rally, it was Burkina Faso that managed to win the penalties 8-7 and make it to the next round. Kamou Malo and his team faced Tunisia in the quarterfinal. Thanks to a left-footed shot from Dango Ouattara, which happened to be his first goal of the tournament, Burkina Faso won the match, and by eliminating Tunisia, they secured their place in the semifinal.

There, they had to face

, which, according to many football fans and experts was one of the favorites to win the 2021 African Cup of Nations title. In a hard-fought battle at the Stade du 4-Août, in front of their fans, Burkina Faso lost the match 1-3 and failed to qualify for the final. The only goal of Burkina Faso in that match was scored by Ibrahim Blati Touré in the 82nd minute.

Burkina Faso was set to play against Cameroon in the third-place playoff match. Kamou Molo's boys made a flying start to the match as they were able to score three goals in the first half. The score sheet was 3-0 for Burkina Faso after 70 minutes, but Cameroon managed to score three goals in 16 minutes to equalize the match. After the extra time, it was Cameroon who managed to win the penalties 8-6.

By finishing fourth in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, Burkina Faso and their manager achieved a big success which no one expected from them. With an average of 1.43 points per match, Kamou Malo is the 10th coach in our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Patrice Beaumelle – Ivory Coast

The first European coach to appear in our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is the French Patrice Beaumelle. The young coach, who had a rather quiet playing career in his home country and has been appointed as Ivory Coast manager since 2020 after six years of sitting out of football, had a good campaign in the 2021 African Cup of Nations as many believe they had some bad luck to lose against

in the round of 16.

In his first match in the tournament, the Ivory Coast national team managed to win 1-0 against

, with a goal from Max Gradel in the 5th minute. In their second group stage match against Sierra Leone, which happened to be much harder than what many had thought, they only got a draw. Sebastien Haller, the talented

striker, gave the lead to Ivory Coast in the 25th minute, but Musa Kamara equalized the match in the second half.

After Nicolas Pepe's goal in the 65th minute and at a time when many thought Ivory Coast had won the match, Alhaji Kamara scored a beautiful left-footed shot for Sierra Leone in the 93rd minute and thus Patrice Beaumelle only got one point from that match. To secure their place in the group, Ivory Coast had to win against Algeria, the defending champions of the tournament in the last group stage match.

With three goals from Franck Kessie, Ibrahim Sangare and Nicolas Pepe, Patrice Beaumelle's boys secured a pleasing 3-1 win and finished Group E with seven points in three matches, thus qualifying for the knockout stage of the 2021 African Cup of Nations. In the round of 16, Patrice Beaumelle had to play against Carlos Queiroz and the Egyptian national team.

Following a long battle over 90 minutes, the match finished in a 0-0 draw, and therefore it went to the extra time. Once again, none of the teams was able to score a goal in the extra time, and both teams went to the penalties after 120 minutes of football. With Eric Bailly losing his penalty kick, the Egyptians managed to win against Ivory Coast 5-4 on penalties and thus, Ivory Coast and Patrice Beaumelle had to say an early goodbye to the tournament. The French coach got a 1.75 average points per match in the 2021 African Cup of Nations.

Mohamed Magassouba – Mali

Just like the head coach of Burkina Faso, Mohamed Magassouba, who was manager of the

in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, had spent his career in football in his home country and not many football fans know him outside Mali; however, he managed to put on some good performances with his team during the tournament and thus earned himself a place in the list of top managers in 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

In their first outing in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, Mohamed Magassouba and Mali played their strongest opponent in Group F, which was Tunisia. Thanks to a goal from Ibrahima Kone in the 48th minute, Mali managed to win their first match and collect the three points. In that match, Wahbi Khezri, the star striker of the Tunisian team missed a penalty in the 77th minute.

Mali faced the Gambia in their second group stage match on 16 January. In a rather level match, it was first Mali that opened the score sheet with a goal from Ibrahima Kone in the 77th minute. While the score remained the same until the last minutes of the game, Musa Barrow was able to equalize the match with a goal from a penalty in the 90th minute, so, just like Ivory Coast, Mali got a draw in their second game in the tournament.

Mali made a flying start to their last group stage match against

, as in the second minute of the match Massadio Haidara scored Mali's first goal. In the 49th minute, Ibrahima Kone scored his first goal of the match and the third goal in the tournament from a penalty kick and in doing so, helped Mali clinch their second win in the group stage. Mali finished the group in first place with seven points in three matches.

Equatorial Guinea was Mali and Mohamed Magassouba's opponent in the round of 16 of the 2021 African Cup of Nations. While many football experts believed that Mali would have a rather easy match against them, but Equatorial Guinea proved to be a strong opponent for the Malians, and after 120 minutes, none of the teams managed to score a goal and therefore, penalties were set to decide which team will advance to the quarterfinal of the tournament.

While the Equatorial Guinea team started the shootout losing their penalty, but after Massadio Haidara, Hamari Traoré and Falaye Sacko failed to convert their penalty kicks, it was Equatorial Guinea who won the match 6-5 on penalties and eliminated Mali from the tournament. Mohamed Magassouba had an average of 1.75 points per match in the competition and thus deserved a place in our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Juan Micha – Equatorial Guinea

The 46 years old Juan Micha is another low profile coach in our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. He has spent all of his coaching career in his home country, working with different ranks of the Equatorial Guinea national football team. Since March 2021, Juan Micha has been working as the head coach of the Equatorial Guinea national football team, and with good performances in the tournament, many believe that he could stay on the bench of the national team for some years to come.

On 12 January 2022, Juan Micha and Equatorial Guinea started the 2021 African Cup of Nations with a 1-0 defeat against the

national team, thus they did not have a good start to the tournament as they had wished for. In their second group stage match, Equatorial Guinea had to face another big African team,

. In the Stade de Japoma stadium, the defending champions of the African Cup of Nations played a poor match and it was Equatorial Guinea that, against all odds, managed to win the match with a 70th minute foal from Esteban Orozco.

Equatorial Guinea was able to win their third group stage match against

thanks to a goal from Pablo Ganet in the 38th minute and by doing so, they finished second in Group E, with six points in three games, just behind the Ivory Coast and qualified for the round of 16 match. The defending champions Algeria finished the group in fourth place and had an early exit from the tournament.

In the round of 16 match against Mali, both teams failed to score any goals during the 120 minutes of the match played, and therefore the penalties had to decide which team would go to the quarterfinal. After a long rally, with 16 penalties, it was Equatorial Guinea who managed to win 6-5 and make it to the next round of the 2021 African Cup of Nations.

In the quarterfinals, Equatorial Guinea had to play against the African giants Senegal, which was full of star footballers such as Sadio Mane, Edouard Mendy, Koulibaly and others. The match didn't start the way Juan Micha and his boys wished for and it was in the 28th minute that Famara Diédhiou scored the first goal for Senegal. In the second half, Jannick Buyla was able to equalize the match in the 57th minute, providing new hopes to his team.

But two goals in less than eleven minutes for Senegal, meant that Equatorial Guinea had to say goodbye to the tournament and go back home. With an average of 1.8 points per match, Juan Micha has a place in our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Vahid Halilhodzic – Morocco

The second European coach to appear in our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is Vahid Halilhodzic, who could well be considered as one of the most decorated coaches who took part in the 2021 African Cup of Nations this year with Morocco national football team. Having a wealth of experience managing different teams on the club and national level, Vahid Halilhodzic took charge of the Moroccan national football team in 2019 and this was his first major tournament with the national team.

In their opening match in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, Vahid Halilhodzic and the Morocco national team faced Ghana, another top African football team in the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo. While the match went on scoreless for more than 80 minutes, it was Sofiane Boufal who managed to score the first goal for Morocco in the 2021 African Cup of Nations, and thus Morocco got the three points to make a good start to the tournament.

Against the underdogs

, Vahid Halilhodzic's boys put on a good show. In the 16th minute, it was Selim Amallah who scored the first goal of the match to give his team a good start. Near the end of the match, Zakaria Aboukhlal scored a right-footed shot goal on an assist from Selim Amallah and the team secured a 2-0 win and another three points, to further strengthen their place in their group.

Morocco's last group stage match was played against Gabon on 18 January 2022. Against all odds, Gabon made a good start to the match and scored their first goal in the 21st minute. The score sheet was unchanged for more than fifty minutes until Sofiane Boufal scored his first goal of the match and second goal of the tournament in the 74th minute from a penalty kick. But just 7 minutes later, with an own goal from Nayef Aguerd, Gabon was on the verge of winning the match.

However, three minutes later, Achraf Hakimi, who was the leading star of his team, scored a beautiful free-kick goal to equalize the match. With one point from their last match, Morocco finished in first place in Group C, ahead of Gabon and Comoros and thus qualified for the next stage. In the round of 16, Morocco had a rather easy game against Malawi, but was surprised as their opponents scored a goal in the 7th minute. Moroccan players had to fight until the last moments of the first half to equalize the match with a goal from Youssef En-Nesyri.

In the second half, the Parisian Achraf Hakimi was the one who scored the deciding goal for his national team, once again from a free-kick. With a 2-1 win, Morocco national team and Vahid Halilhodzic made it to the quarterfinal to face Egypt with Carlos Queiroz and Mohamed Salah. In that match, unlike the round of 16, Morocco made a flying start to the match with a penalty goal by Sofiane Boufal in the 6th minute.

In the 53rd minute, Mo Salah scored the equalizer for Egypt and with the score sheet showing 1-1 at the end of the 90 minutes, the match went to the extra time. A goal from Trezeguet in the 100th minute of the match meant that Morocco had to say goodbye to the tournament, as Vahid Halilhodzic's team failed to score another goal before the 120 minutes. With an average of 2 points per match, Vahid Halilhodzic has a place in our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Tom Saintfiet – The Gambia

The 48 years old Belgian coach Tom Saintfiet is the third European in our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Despite his young age as a coach, he has been in the business of coaching football teams since he was 26 years old back in 1997, and since then, he has managed lots of football teams both on the club and international level. Since 2018, he has been working as head coach of the Gambian national football team and the 2021 African Cup of Nations was his first major tournament with the team.

The Gambia was one of the teams who surprised many in the tournament this year, thanks to their good performances. They started their African Cup of Nations campaign with a 1-0 win against Mauritania on 12 January 2022, thanks to a goal from Able Jallow in the 10th minute of the match. In their second group stage match, they had to face against a strong Malian national team. While after the 79th minute goal for Mali, the match was near its end, Musa Barrow scored a goal from a penalty in the 90th minute to help his team avoid defeat.

In a great performance in their last group stage match, the Gambians, under the guidance of Tom Saintfiet, managed to secure a 1-0 win against the Tunisian national team. Once again, it was Musa Barrow who scored a beautiful right-footed shot in the 93rd to clinch a memorable win for his national team. With this win, the Gambia national team finished second in their group with 7 points, just behind Mali and ahead of Tunisia, who finished as one of the best third-placed teams of the tournament.

In the round of 16, Tom Saintfiet and his boys had a rather tough job against Guinea. As the match was goalless until the 70th minute, it was Musa Barrow who managed to score the first and only goal of the match and in doing so, helped the Gambian national team to qualify for the quarterfinal match. In the quarterfinal, the Gambian national team had to face the hosts Cameroon in the Stade de Japoma stadium, in front of more the 36,000 mostly Cameroonian fans.

While the match was goalless until the early minutes of the second half, two goals from the Cameroonian Karl Toko Ekambi meant that the quarterfinal was the end of the line for Tom Saintfiet and his boys. With an average of 2 points per match in the tournament, the Belgian coach deserved a place in our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Carlos Queiroz – Egypt

Another experienced European coach to appear on our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is the Portuguese Carlos Queiroz, who took charge of the Egypt national team with a wealth of experience, from being the assistant coach for Sir Alex Ferguson to coaching Real Madrid and managing many different national teams during his career as a football coach. He took the Egyptian national team with the aim of adding another African Cup of Nation to the list of titles won by the country, and while he had some of the top 10 best players in Africa 2021 at his disposal, many considered as one of the favorites to clinch the title.

All that said, Carlos Queiroz and the Egyptian national team had a disappointing start to the 2021 African Cup of Nations with a 1-0 defeat to

on 11 January 2022. To qualify for the next round, they had to win their second group stage match against Guinea-Bissau, and that was what they exactly did, with a goal from their leading star Mohamed Salah. Four days later, in their last group stage match, the Egyptian national team faced Sudan.

The Sudanese national team was no match for them and thanks to a goal by Mohamed Abdelmonem in the 35th minute, Egypt managed to win their second consecutive match with a score of 1-0. By doing this, Carlos Queiroz managed to take Egypt to the knockout stage of the tournament with six points in three matches, just behind the Super Eagles who had nine points from their three wins in the Group D of the tournament.

In the round of 16, Egypt had to face Ivory Coast on 26 January 2022 at the Stade Olympique Alassane Ouattara stadium. While the match finished in a goalless draw after 120 minutes, it was Carlos Queiroz' boys who managed to beat Ivory Coast in the penalty shootout with a score of 5-4. Mohamed Salah converted the last penalty which sealed their ticket for the quarterfinal match of the 2021 African Cup of Nations.

Egypt was to play against a much tougher opponent in the quarterfinal: Morocco. It was just six minutes after the start of the match that a foul on Achraf Hakimi awarded a penalty to the Moroccan team and Sofiane Boufal converted it to score his third goal of the tournament. The score sheet did not change until the 53rd minute, when Mohamed Salah managed to score his second goal in the 2021 African Cup of Nations. At the extra time, it was once again the perfect play of Mo Salah who helped Egypt.

On an assist from the Liverpool star, Trezeguet scored the all-important goal in the 100th minute and thus Queiroz' team made it to the semifinal. There, Egypt faced the host nation Cameroon. Just like their round of 16 match against Ivory Coast, following a goalless during after 120 minutes, Egypt came out on top in the penalties and in doing so, booked their place in the final of the 2021 African Cup of Nations.

The final match against Senegal was probably the most tricky match of the Egyptian national team in the tournament. On a day that Mohamed Salah had a very average game and was not able to put on a good show, Egypt lost the match against Senegal on penalties with a score of 4-2. Edouard Mendy's great performance was one of the reasons that Senegal was able to defeat Egypt on that day. With an average of 2.14 points per match, the Portuguese coach has a place in this list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Augustine Eguavoen – Nigeria

Another local coach who managed to establish himself as one of the best African head coaches was the Nigerian Augustine Eguavoen. Just like his colleagues Kamou Malo and Mohamed Magassouba, Augustine Eguavoen had also spent his entire career in his home country. Since 2020, he was working with the Nigerian national team as the technical director and after the German coach of the Super Eagles left the team just before the start of the 2021 African Cup of Nations, the Nigerian federation decided to put him in charge of the national team for the tournament on an interim basis.

On his first match on the bench of the Super Eagles, Augustine Eguavoen recorded a 1-0 win against Egypt, one of the strongest teams of the tournament thanks to a goal from Kelechi Iheanacho in the 30th minute of the match. Winning that match somehow sealed the fate of the group. For the second group stage match, Nigeria secured an easy win against Sudan. Samuel Chukwueze, Taiwo Awoniyi and Moses Simon scored three goals in the first half for the Super Eagles, and the only goal of Sudan in the second half was not enough to help them avoid the defeat.

The Nigerian national team continued their good form in the 2021 African Cup of Nations group stage with another win against Guinea-Bissau under the guidance of Augustine Eguavoen. After the first half ended with a goalless draw, it was Umaar Sadiq who scored the first goal for Nigeria, before William Troost-Ekong completed the team's 2-0 victory with a right-footed shot in the 75th minute. With this win, Nigeria finished Group D with nine points and made it to the next round.

Having demonstrated strong performances in the group stage, many pundits considered the Super Eagles to be amongst the teams that are going to make it all the way to the final stages of the tournament. But in the round of 16, things were different and the Nigerian national team suffered a surprise 1-0 defeat against Tunisia and thus had to leave the tournament very early.

After this match, Augustine Eguavoen, returned to his previous role as technical director of the national team. With an average of 2.25 points per match, Augustine Eguavoen was amongst the best head coaches in the 2021 African Cup of Nations.

Toni Conceição – Cameroon

The second Portuguese coach to appear on our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations is the famous Toni Conceição, who has been head coach of the Cameroon national team since 2019. With a team consisting of good stars and young talent, and the fact that Cameroon hosted the 2021 African Cup of Nations, many experts considered the Cameroon national team under Toni Conceição to be one of the main favorites to win the title this year.

In his first match in Group A, the Cameroon national team faced Burkina Faso on 9 January 2022. It was Burkina Faso who scored the first goal in the 24th minute, but two goals in the space of eight minutes from Vincent Aboubakar meant that the Indomitable Lions had won their first match of the tournament with a score of 2-1.

Cameroon played against Ethiopia in their second group stage match. While many believed that this was going to be an easy match for them, but in the 4th minute of the game, Dawa Hotessa scored a right-footed shot to give the lead to Ethiopia, but just four minutes later, Karl Toko Ekambi equalized the match with a beautiful header. The first half ended with the score sheet showing 1-1. Between the 53rd and 67th minute, Cameroon managed to score three goals (two from Vincent Aboubakar and one from Karl Toko Ekambi) and therefore won the match 4-1.

In the last group stage match, Cameroon was somehow surprised by a hard-working Cape Verde and the match ended in a 1-1 draw. The only goal of Cameroon in that match was scored by Vincent Aboubakar. With a draw in that match, Cameroon ended the group stage with seven points and topped Group A of the 2021 African Cup of Nations, therefore securing their place in the knockout stage of the tournament.

The round of 16 saw Cameroon face Comoros in the Stade d'Olembé stadium. Karl Toko Ekambi scored the first goal of Cameroon in the 29th minute, with Vincent Aboubakar doubling the lead with a left-footed shot in the 70th minute. Eleven minutes later, Comoros scored a goal, but it was not enough for the team to avoid the defeat and make it to the next round of the tournament.

Toni Conceição's boys had a rather kind draw for the quarterfinal as they had to play against the Gambia. It turned out to be true, as Cameroon easily won the match 2-0 with a double by Karl Toko Ekambi in the space of seven minutes. The player managed to score his fourth and fifth goals of the tournament in that match.

In order to make it to the final of the 2021 African Cup of Nations, which was held in their home country, Cameroon faced Egypt in the semifinal match on 3 February 2022. Following a goalless draw after 120 minutes, Cameroon suffered a 1-3 defeat on penalties in front of their fans at the Stade d'Olembé stadium. In that match, Harold Moukoudi, James Léa Siliki and Clinton N'Jie missed their penalty shots.

In the Third Place Play-Off against Burkina Faso, Toni Conceição decided to put many of his key players on the bench and let the youngsters gain match experience. However, a weakened Cameroon team conceded three goals in the first half. To change things around, Toni Conceição brought in some of his experienced players in the second half, and Stéphane Bahoken and Vincent Aboubakar (two goals) managed to equalize the match. In the penalties, Cameroon won the match with a score of 6-8. Toni Conceição had an average of 2.29 points per match and is a part of our list of top managers in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.

Aliou Cissé – Senegal

As you might have expected, the best manager in the 2021 African Cup of Nations is Aliou Cisse, who was able to win the AFCON title for his country for the first time in history. The 45 years old manager of the Senegalese national team, who had a good playing career in the likes of

and some other French and English clubs, has been working as head coach of the team since 2015.

This strategy of the Senegalese federation had paid off, as Cisse has built a generation of footballers that managed to win the African Cup of Nations for the first time and without a doubt, he had some of the best players at AFCON 2022 in his team, who helped to put Senegal in the top of African national teams rankings 2021.

Just a few days before the start of the 2021 African Cup of Nations, Aliou Cisse lost some of his players who tested positive for Covid-19, including his star goalkeeper Edouard Mendy. In their first group stage match, Senegal played Zimbabwe on 10 January 2022. In a true difficult match, in which both of the teams were unable to score any goals for more than 90 minutes, it was Sadio Mane who managed to convert a penalty kick in the 97th minute to secure the three points for the Senegalese national team.

In the next two group stage matches against Guinea and Malawi, Senegal recorded two goalless draws and the team and Aliou Cisse were heavily criticized for not performing at a level that they should. With a win and two draws, Senegal finished the group stage by topping Group B with five points, ahead of the Guinea and Malawi team and thus made it to the knockout stage of the 2021 African Cup of Nations.

In the round of 16, Senegal and Aliou Cisse had a rather easy game against Cape Verde and thanks to goals from Sadio Mane and Bamba Dieng, they managed to win the match and secure a place in the quarterfinal. There, Senegal had to face Equatorial Guinea in the Stade Ahmadou Ahidjo. Senegal had a good start to the match, as Famara Diédhiou scored his first goal in the tournament in the 28th minute. But in the 57th minute, it was Jannick Buyla who equalized the match.

Aliou Cisse made three changes after that goal, subbing in Ismaïla Sarr, Cheikhou Kouyaté and Bamba Dieng in the space of seven minutes. Cheikhou Kouyaté only needed three minutes after entering the pitch to score the second goal for Senegal and Ismaïla Sarr; another substituted player scored the third and last goal of the match to make it 3-1 for Senegal, securing their place in the semifinal. There, Senegal faced Burkina Faso, who had surprised many during the tournament.

While the match was 0-0 for 70 minutes, it was Abdou Diallo, the Parisian defender of the Senegal national team who scored the first goal of the match. Six minutes later, his teammate at Paris Saint-Germain scored another goal for Senegal to make it 2-0. However, six minutes later, Burkina Faso made it 2-1. The last goal of the match came from Sadio Mane, who scored a left-footed shot in the 87th minute and in doing so, helped his team make it to the final match.

Aliou Cisse once again had taken his team to the final of the African Cup of Nations; after the last time in 2019, they had failed in the final and lost the title to Algeria. This time against Egypt, however, things were different, and the Senegalese national team managed to win the match 4-2 on penalties and, for the first time in their history, win the African Cup of Nations with the help of some of the most valuable African players in his squad. With an average of 2.43 points per match, Alio Cisse is the best manager in the 2021 African Cup of Nations.

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