Kalidou Koulibaly leads Papa Bouba Diop tributes on emotional day for Senegal – ‘True Lion Never Dies’

Senegal’s dramatic qualification for the last 16 of the 2022 World Cup came on an emotional day for the team and country.

During the Lions of Teranga’s decisive Group A clash with Ecuador, fans and players paid tribute to former international Papa Bouba Diop, who died exactly two years ago to the day.

Captain Kalidou Koulibaly, who went on to score the winning goal, wore an armband with the number 19 – Diop’s shirt number – on it.

Tributes were also paid in the stands with a number of travelling Senegalese fans honouring their hero’s memory with shirts, posters and some even painting their bodies with the number 19.

At full-time, the Senegal players also collectively raised a poster featuring Diop, reading ‘True Lion Never Dies’.

“This is for the family of Papa Bouba Diop,” Koulibaly said afterwards. “We wanted to make him proud and give homage to him. He made me dream as a boy.”

Doip, who passed away aged 42 in 2020, is best remembered for his winning goal against France in Senegal’s historic World Cup debut in 2002.

The midfielder was Senegal’s top scorer with three goals in 2002 before they were eliminated by Turkey in the quarter-finals.

Victory against Ecuador this time around mean that Senegal are into the knockouts for the first time since that tournament in South Korea and Japan 20 years earlier.

Despite defeat against Netherlands in their opening game, the African champions rallied and following a 3-1 win over Qatar, knew that victory over the South Americans would take them through.

Ismaila Sarr opened the scoring from the penalty spot on the stroke of half time before Moises Caicedo equalised after the break.

However, within a matter of minutes, Koulibaly reacted fastest in the box to send Senegal into the second round for the first time since 2022.

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