Brahim Diaz is the top scorer of the Africa Cup of Nations—and cried when he received the trophy. Other awards went to Sadio Mané and Bono.
There could hardly have been a weaker consolation. When Brahim Diaz was presented with the Golden Boot for the top scorer of the Africa Cup of Nations by FIFA President Gianni Infantino, he had tears in his eyes and the impression was clear: this man would rather be anywhere else than here right now. The Real Madrid forward won the award with five goals. But it would have been the sixth that would have given him – and the host country – the title.
But the 26-year-old star chipped his penalty kick in extra time of the final against Senegal on Sunday evening, after a nearly 20-minute interruption because the opposing players had left the field in protest against the penalty call, far too casually into the middle of the goal. There, Senegal’s keeper Edouard Mendy easily caught the ball.
Instead of becoming Africa Cup winner, Brahim Diaz “only” became top scorer. He won the Golden Boot thanks to a remarkable streak: although he did not score multiple goals in any game, he scored once in each of his first five tournament games.
After that, he didn’t score again—fatally, not even in the final. Just under two years ago, the Malaga-born striker changed national teams after playing for Spain in a friendly but never in a competitive match. Since then, he has played for Morocco, his father’s country of origin. Remarkably, Since changing federations, Brahim Diaz had not lost a single one of his 22 international matches. The first defeat now came at the worst possible moment.
As top scorer, Brahim Diaz succeeds Emilio Nsue from Equatorial Guinea, who surprisingly won the title two years ago in Ivory Coast, even though his team had already been eliminated in the round of 16. The Real Madrid player is also the first Moroccan to be the sole top scorer at the Africa Cup of Nations. Khaled Al Abyad Labied (1980), Youssef Mokhtari (2004), and Houssine Kharja (2015) had to share the title with other players.
Mané best player – Bono best goalkeeper
Sadio Mané was voted the best player of the tournament, accepting the award with considerably more joy than Brahim Diaz. The national hero had already been named best player at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, where he also triumphed with his team. Mané had “only” scored two goals in the tournament, but one of them was the important 1-0 winner in the semi-final against Egypt.
Morocco’s goalkeeper Bono was named the best goalkeeper of the tournament. The decisive final goal by Senegal’s Pape Gueye was the first and only goal conceded by the experienced keeper from open play in the entire tournament. Bono had already made two outstanding saves in the final, and in the semifinal against Nigeria, he saved two attempts in the penalty shootout. The fair play award for the tournament also went to the Moroccans. Of course, they are unlikely to be particularly pleased about that.
