Johannesburg - Malawi may have bowed out of the Africa Cup of Nations on Wednesday, but the goal from Gabadinho Mhango might well be the strike of the tournament.
Malawi lost 2-1 to favourites Morocco in their round of 16 clash at Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde, but the undoubted highlight of the match was the wonder strike from the 29-year-old Mhango in the seventh minute.
With Malawi just beginning to find their rhythm and knocking the ball around, Mhango received the ball on the left wing before he cut infield with Morocco defender Achraf Hakimi on his heels.
As a second Morocco player ran towards Mhango’s path, the Orlando Pirates forward reeled off a powerful strike from around 40m which caught goalkeeper Yassine Bounou off his line as the ball rocketed into the top right hand corner of the net.
It was a sensational moment, and arguably the highlight of minnows Malawi’s tournament against the second-ranked team in Africa.
Gabadinho Mhango giving us one of the greatest goals in Africa Cup of Nations history 😱😳#TeamMalawi bow out of #AFCON2021 but their story certainly will not be forgotten!
— SuperSport 🏆 (@SuperSportTV) January 25, 2022
📺 Watch the AFCON highlights here: https://t.co/I7R9xTy5k9. pic.twitter.com/ekpfP3PYSt
The Confederation of African Football already judged the strike to be its goal of the day, and surely more awards will be coming the way of Mhango.
🇲🇼 Gabadinho Mhango’s stunning effort wins our #GoalOfTheDay award! 🎯 #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 | #AFCON2021 | #TeamMalawi | @1xBet_Eng pic.twitter.com/Vv4iCQ8goI
— #TotalEnergiesAFCON2021 🏆 (@CAF_Online) January 25, 2022
In fact, Mhango’s goal drew praise from far and wide with Sheffield Wednesday journalist Joe Crann tweeting: “Gabadinho Mhango doing Gabadinho Mhango things, too - it’s nice to see the rest of the world getting a look at what he’s got in his locker.”
It’s been a great run for #TeamMalawi… They can be really proud of themselves at #AFCON2021, and have made a proper go of things.
— Joe Crann (@YesWeCrann) January 25, 2022
Gabadinho Mhango doing Gabadinho Mhango things, too - it’s nice to see the rest of the world getting a look at what he’s got in his locker. pic.twitter.com/Wly7C7Iofy
BBC broadcaster John Bennett said: “Gabadinho Mhango may well be my new favourite footballer.”
Gabadinho Mhango may well be my new favourite footballer.
— John Bennett (@JohnBennettBBC) January 25, 2022
-scores worldies
-sounds like a player from my Pro Evolution Soccer "Master League" team.
@Golfhackno1
IOL Sport