Babaï Djaï: Algerians showered me with thank-you messages after my goal in Morocco

Pape Djaye, the Senegal national team star, revealed his great surprise at the scale of support he received from Algerian fans after scoring a goal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco.

In statements to SoFoot magazine, relayed by the “FootMercato” network, Djaye said he received a flood of support messages from Algerian supporters, who expressed their happiness at his role in denying Morocco— their historic sporting rival— a second African title.

The Villarreal player joked: “The Algerians? No need to say anything… Thanks to them, I now have a million followers on Instagram. They all messaged me after the match saying: ‘Brother, we’re so happy, thank you, we didn’t want Morocco to win!’”

He added with a smile: “If I go to Algeria tomorrow, I think they’ll استقبال me in a limousine!”

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Djaye scored the only goal in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final, which was held more than two months ago and ended with Senegal winning 1-0, but the title has not yet been officially decided in Senegal’s favor.

That match witnessed dramatic events, after which Senegal’s players left the pitch for several minutes before returning to the field.

The Moroccan Football Federation took advantage of the incident to file a protest. The CAF appeals committee accepted it and ruled the Atlas Lions winners 3-0 by default.

But Senegal did not give up and filed a complaint with the Court of Arbitration for Sport (CAS), with the final ruling expected in the coming months.

Nevertheless, Senegal’s national team players celebrated the Africa Cup twice before the two friendly matches played by the Lions of Teranga during the March international break, against Peru and Gambia.

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