Mama Diop, a Red-Hot Lioness
It only took two flashes of lightning. Two crisp strikes, sleek bodywork and complete control of the opponent's box. In an hour of play, Mama Diop transformed the green rectangle of the El Bachir stadium in Mohammedia into a territory under control. Against the Democratic Republic of Congo (4-0), the Senegalese striker did not just shine: she radiated, electrified the stands, and shattered the Congolese defense. Voted TotalEnergies Woman of the Match, the 30-year-old Lioness delivered a recital that read like a manifesto.
A touch of Rashidi Yekini
There is something timeless about Mama Diop's style. A very particular way of sensing the goal. Of haunting the box. Of making her stature (1.85m) a constant threat. Powerful, ferocious, sharp in her movements, deliberate in her final move, the former RC Lens player seems inhabited by a collective memory. That of Africa's great nines. That of Rashidi Yekini.
"I did not know him, but I know Rashidi Yekini is a legend," she breathes, her gaze fixed and her smile wry. "If my style can resemble his, it is a huge honour. But I want to write my own chapter."
The opposite is true. Like Yekini, Nigeria's legendary goalscorer and scorer of the Super Eagles' first World Cup goal (1994), Mama Diop does not mince words. She does not mince her words. She is lethal in her approach. Her game is frontal, vertical, raw. She does not dribble to seduce, she eliminates to strike. With a fixed gaze and a confident gait, she marches toward the goal like a wild beast toward its prey. "I like to feel like I'm scary in the box," she says bluntly. "That is where I feel alive. Where I can give my all."
The Lionesses' coach, Mame Moussa Cissé, does not hide his admiration: "She is a player who attracts everyone. A gravitational force. She commands immediate respect. And when she is having a good day, it is immediately evident."
Silence and rigor
“In the locker room, we do not hear her often. But we always watch her. Mama Diop is one of those players who speaks little and hits hard. First to warm up, last to leave the weight room. An obsessive professional, attentive, disciplined, and uncompromising with herself. "She's a true Lioness," reveals Ndeye Awa Diakhaté. "She pushes you to surpass yourself. She does not give up. When she is there, you know that nothing is impossible."
Bred and trained in Senegal, discovered in France, and played for Toulouse, Arras, Orléans, and then Lens, the Olympique de Marseille striker had no shortcuts. She had to earn her place and make a name for herself.
Objective: Top of the scorers' rankings
Two goals against DR Congo, a technical and physical demonstration, and above all, a clear message: Mama Diop did not come here to play catchup. At 30, the Guéréo native wants to make history, to write her name at the top. And why not finish as the tournament's top scorer?
"When I start a competition, it is to go all the way. Team or individual trophies are what keep me going." Wednesday against Zambia, led by Barbra Banda—another giant of African Football and a formidable striker—a top scorer is looming. A high-intensity duel. Diop knows the stakes. And the anticipation. "I have a lot of respect for Banda but I will take this match as a personal challenge. If I want to be the best, this is the kind of match I have to dominate." Mama Diop is more than just a striker. She is a statement. The statement of African Women's Football that is emancipating itself, asserting itself, and establishing its own role models. If Rashidi Yekini's roar is history, Mama Diop's no longer evokes a promise: it heralds an era.