Meet Yehvann Diouf, The Towel Guardian: Senegal’s Most Unlikely AFCON Match-Winner

Last Updated:January 19, 2026, 20:43 IST

Yehvann Diouf became Senegal’s cult hero at the AFCON final by fiercely defending Edouard Mendy’s towels amid chaos, earning viral fame despite not playing a single minute.

Senegal's reserve keeper Yehvann Diouf was a major topic of conversation after their AFCON win

Senegal have a new cult hero — and he didn’t play a single minute of the Africa Cup of Nations final.

Instead, Yehvann Diouf, Senegal’s second-choice goalkeeper, became an unlikely star for spending large chunks of Sunday’s chaotic final defending towels.

Yes, towels.

As Senegal edged Morocco in a bizarre, stop-start AFCON final, Diouf’s job turned into something no keeper trains for: protecting starting goalkeeper Edouard Mendy’s towels from repeated raids by ball boys, and even opposition players.

The final was already wild. There was a 14-minute delay, a late penalty, and Senegal players briefly walking off the pitch. But amid the madness, another storyline quietly stole the spotlight.

Diouf, stuck on the touchline, could be seen wrestling, shielding and sprinting to keep hold of Mendy’s towels.

In one viral clip, he’s chased along the sideline. In another, he lies flat on the pitch, hugging a towel as ball boys try to drag him away.

Morocco players even got involved. Captain Achraf Hakimi was filmed tossing one of the towels over the advertising boards, while midfielder Ismael Saibari tried to stop Diouf from handing one back to Mendy.

For goalkeepers, towels matter — especially in wet conditions. They’re used to dry gloves and faces, nothing more. But for reasons still unclear, they became a strange point of obsession throughout the final.

Senegal fans quickly embraced Diouf as a folk hero. Some even joked his efforts were just as important as Pape Gueye’s extra-time winner.

The incident exploded online. And the man himself? He took it all in stride.

After the match, Diouf posted a photo biting his winner’s medal while holding a towel, captioned simply: “Here it is (the medal and the towel)."

No saves. No minutes. Just grit, humour, and one very well-defended towel.

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