Mendy made a decisive save in the penalty shootout of the Africa Cup of Nations final to help Senegal claim a first title.
Edouard Mendy is ‘the best goalkeeper in the world’, according to Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly.
The Chelsea star saved a spot-kick from Mohanad Lasheen in the shootout of Sunday’s AFCON final between Senegal and Egypt, after the two teams finished 0-0 at the end of extra time.
Sadio Mane then scored his penalty-kick to seal Senegal a 4-2 shootout win, and a first AFCON title.
Édouard Mendy is the first goalkeeper to keep a clean sheet in a Champions League final and in an Africa Cup of Nations final.#TeamSenegal pic.twitter.com/WTq9oJMy2i
— Squawka Football (@Squawka) February 6, 2022
But while keen to praise the team for such an incredible achievement, Koulibaly paid a special tribute to Mendy – who was named AFCON’s Goalkeeper of the Tournament – at the same time.
“It was a tough game and a tough tournament,” said Koulibaly as per Evening Standard.
“We made it with our team and our power. Our goalkeeper is the best in the world and we win the title. We feel happy. We knew it would be hard to win the Africa Cup of Nations, but today we did it.
“Our team deserved to win this title. We had been looking for this for a long time and now we have it. This team is magnificent.”
On his penalty heroics, Mendy said: “The shooters in the penalties did really well. I tried to do my best to save one shot and I did that, so I am super happy!
“We are proud. We never won it before.
“We worked really hard to win this trophy and today we won as a group and as a country and that is why I am super proud.”
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