Senegal erupts in joy after dramatic win to take the Africa Cup of Nations

DAKAR, Senegal (AP) — Senegal erupted in joy Sunday night after the West African country's soccer team defeated Morocco 1-0 to win the Africa Cup of Nations.

Across the capital Dakar, fireworks lit up the sky, horns blared and people of all ages chanted and danced in the streets, dressed in national colors and holding Senegalese flags.

“Our team has shown that it is the best in Africa,” said Pape Ndiaye, a young man waving the Senegalese flag in the Parcelles Assainies neighborhood, a working-class suburb of Dakar. “It’s a well-deserved victory. The Lions fought like true lions,” he added, referring to the national team’s nickname, Teranga Lions.

Just minutes earlier, Senegal defeated Morocco in the championship game of the Africa Cup of Nations in dramatic fashion. The heated final was played in Rabat, Morocco's capital.

Pape Gueye scored in extra time for the Teranga Lions to beat host Morocco 1-0 in a chaotic game which at one point saw fans trying to storm the field and Senegal’s players walking off the field to protest a penalty decision deep into second-half stoppage time.

“The Senegalese team showed its strength and why it is the best team in Africa,” said Mamadou Alpha Diallo, a 26-year-old education student. “The team showed maturity in a difficult match. The referee played with our emotions. We were stressed and exhausted, but Senegal persevered.”

It’s Senegal’s second Africa Cup win. The Teranga Lions won the 2021 edition after a penalty shootout against Egypt.

President Bassirou Diomaye Faye of Senegal praised the soccer team on public television.

“The joy is indescribable," he said. "We experienced a whole range of emotions. We saw men on the field. Patriots fighting for our honor. This is a victory for the lions, first and foremost, for the coaching staff, and for the entire Senegalese people.”

Faye promised financial rewards for the national team and announced that Monday would be a public holiday to allow all Senegalese to celebrate.

As he spoke, hundreds of young people were gathered on the grounds of the Cheikh Anta Diop university in Dakar, eager to take advantage of the celebratory mood.

“I’m not sleeping tonight, and we’re going to celebrate until the early hours. No Senegalese person will sleep tonight,” said Sidy Sylla, a Ph.D student. "With the World Cup coming up, the world needs to know that Senegal is no longer a small team; it’s a team to be feared."

Fans celebrate after Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Fans watch a live broadcast of the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Fans celebrate Senegal's goal in the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Fans celebrate Senegal's victory of the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Fans celebrate Senegal's victory of the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Dakar, Senegal, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Misper Apawu)

Senegal's Sadio Mane holds the trophy aloft as he celebrates with teammates after winning the Africa Cup of Nations final soccer match between Senegal and Morocco in Rabat, Morocco, Sunday, Jan. 18, 2026. (AP Photo/Youssef Loulidi)

MADRID (AP) — A high-speed train in southern Spain derailed Sunday evening, colliding with another high-speed train, killing at least 39 people and injuring more than 150, Spanish authorities reported.

Rescue efforts were still ongoing Monday and officials said the death toll is likely to rise. The accident was the deadliest in Spain since a 2013 crash that killed 80 people when a commuter train hurtled off the rails as it came around a bend.

Here's what to know about the crash:

The derailment happened Sunday at 7:45 p.m. when the tail end of a train carrying 289 passengers on the route from Malaga to the capital, Madrid, went off the rails. It slammed into an incoming train traveling from Madrid to Huelva, another southern city, according to rail operator Adif.

The head of the second train took the brunt of the impact, Transport Minister Óscar Puente said. That collision knocked its first two carriages off the track and sent them plummeting down a 4-meter (13-foot) slope. The collision took place near Adamuz, a town in the province of Cordoba, about 370 kilometers (about 230 miles) south of Madrid.

On Monday morning, Andalusia's regional President Juan Manuel Moreno said authorities were searching the area near the accident for possible bodies.

“The impact was so incredibly violent that we have found bodies hundreds of meters away,” Moreno said.

Explanations about what caused the crash were scant, with an official investigation underway.

Transport Minister Puente called the crash “truly strange” since it happened on a flat stretch of track that had been renovated in May. He said the train that jumped the track was less than 4 years old. That train belonged to the private company Iryo, while the second train, which took the brunt of the impact, belonged to Spain’s public train company, Renfe.

Iryo said in a statement Monday that its train was manufactured in 2022 and passed its latest safety check on Jan. 15.

Álvaro Fernández, the president of Renfe, told Spanish public radio RNE that both trains were traveling well under the speed limit of 250 kph and “human error could be ruled out.”

Spanish Prime Minister Pedro Sánchez declared three days of national mourning.

Spain has spent decades investing heavily in high-speed trains. It currently has the largest rail network in Europe for trains traveling over 250 kph (155 mph), with more than 3,900 kilometers (2,400 miles) of track, according to the International Union of Railways.

The network is a popular, competitively priced and safe mode of transport. Sunday’s accident was the first with deaths on Spain’s high-speed rail network since it opened its first line in 1992.

Emergency crews work alongside one of the trains involved in a train collision, in Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (AP Photo/Manu Fernandez)

In this aerial view grab taken from video provided by Guardia Civil, a view of the Iryo train with rescue workers at the scene after a high-speed train collision, near Adamuz, Spain, Monday, Jan. 19, 2026. (Guardia Civil via AP)