A former goalkeeper of the Super Eagles, Peterside Idah, has said that Senegal deserved its first-ever Africa Cup of Nations crown in Cameroon on Sunday.
According to Idah, the triumphant Lions were a better team in the final game than the Pharaohs of Egypt.
He said he would have felt bad had Egypt lifted the coveted cup because the Eagles of Nigeria had whipped Mohamed Salah’s Egypt 1-0 in the 2021 AFCON opener match.
Idah spoke on Monday on Channels Television’s ‘Sunrise Daily’ programme monitored by The PUNCH.
He said, “I expected Senegal to win. Senegal has been a better team. I would have felt so bad if Egypt had won it because we (Eagles) had beaten Egypt in the first game. So, I was praying for Egypt not to win it. Senegal was a better side.”
Idah also said the Pharaohs’ excuse for not having enough rest was not tenable. “They rested for two days before the match. Tournament games have two days, three days’ rest. Quite unfortunate for them, the Senegalese have about four days to rest,” he said.
Before the final match, Salah, who plays as a forward for Premier League club Liverpool and who captained the Egypt national team to the final on Sunday, had expressed optimism to win the game for his home team and experience the “special feeling”.
Salah and his team mate in Liverpool, Senegalese Sadio Mane, had clashed in the final game on Sunday.
The Liverpool winger had scored the decisive penalty to give Senegal the win in a shoot-out (4-2) after the final finished goalless at the end of extra time.
Many soccer fans were disappointed with Salah’s performance on Sunday.
Asked whether the Salah on the pitch on Sunday was different from the player that dazzled spectators in Liverpool, the ex- Eagles goalkeeper said, “This is Africa; it is different here, this is a jungle, they kicked him left, right and centre. In Europe, the referees will protect you (but) here nobody protects you.
“When you are in Europe, they are very structured…but when you come to Africa, it is different, we don’t play to the rules, so, he (Salah) just could not perform.”
The PUNCH had earlier reported that the Senegalese capital, Dakar, exploded with joy on Sunday at the final whistle as Mane’s Senegal beat Salah’s Egypt for their first-ever AFCON crown.
“African champions. What a game! What a team! You did it. Beautiful moment of football, beautiful moment of communion and national pride. Congratulations to our heroes,” Senegalese President Macky Sall tweeted after the Lions’ win on Sunday night.
Sall also declared Monday a national holiday to celebrate the “brilliant victory”.
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