South Africa’s Percy Tau Misses 1st Penalty at AFCON 2023 After Blasting Wide Against Mali, Video

• Percy Tau etched his name in the record books for an unwanted reason
• The South African winger missed the first penalty at the ongoing AFCON
• Before Tau's miss vs Mali, three successful goals have been scored from the spot

Abidjan- Côte d’Ivoire. Al Ahly forward Percy Tau made an unfortunate mark in the annals of the ongoing 2023 Africa Cup of Nations by becoming the first player to miss a penalty.

The former Brighton and Hove Albion winger had a chance to give South Africa the lead in their Group E opening match against Mali but saw his attempt veer wide of the target.

Despite his excellent form for Al Ahly leading up to the tournament, where he scored four goals in five games at the club level, according to Transfermarkt, Tau, 29, regretfully missed the opportunity.

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Egyptian referee Mohamed Adel awarded the penalty to the 1996 AFCON champions following a Video Assistant Referee (VAR) consultation in the 19th minute. However, Percy saw his effort go upward in the sky.

Percy Tau's unwanted record

Tau's missed penalty marked a unique occurrence at the 34th edition of the continental tournament, making him the first player to falter from the spot in the games played thus far.

Prior to Percy Tau's attempt, three penalties had been flawlessly converted.

How many penalties so far?

The initial successful spot-kick was by Egypt and Liverpool forward Mohamed Salah, who netted in stoppage time to salvage a draw for the Pharaohs against Mozambique on January 14, Eurosport reports.

Agostinho Cristóvão Paciência, commonly known as Mabululu, then followed suit, albeit fortuitously, as his initial penalty hit the post but granted him a second chance to score, securing a draw for Angola against Algeria at the Stade de la Paix.

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The list continued with Aston Villa forward Bertrand Traore, who confidently converted his penalty to secure a late victory for Burkina Faso against Mauritania.

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Percy Tau eyes AFCON glory

Earlier, Sports Brief reported that Percy Tau is optimistic as he looks forward to the upcoming game and shared his aspirations with the team.

Despite the fact that their last title was won in 1996 and being labelled as underdogs in the tournament's challenging "group of death" alongside Tunisia, Mali, and Namibia, the Al Ahly forward expressed his desire to lift the title with his team.