AFCON: Sadio Mané guides Senegal into final

It was former FC Metz man, Sadio Mané, who guided Senegal to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) at the expense of Egypt on Wednesday night.

Another cagey game between two African giants

As it was between this pair, who met in the final of the competition in 2022, this was a tightly-contested affair. Then, it was Senegal who came out on top, as Mané netted the winning penalty in the shootout after a goalless 120 minutes. The hero was the same in Tangier on Wednesday.

Senegal suffered a blow in the first half, losing Kalidou Koulibaly to injury, but they looked the more threatening of the two sides. Nicolas Jackson and Pape Gueye both tested the Egypt goal, whilst Mohamed Salah, whose battle against former Liverpool teammate Mané framed this encounter, mustered an attempt from a free-kick.

However, defences were very much on top, with Lyon's Moussa Niakhaté holding firm in the absence of centre-back partner Koulibaly, but alongside another Ligue 1 McDonald's player in the form of Strasbourg's Mamadou Sarr, as they shielded former Rennais, Edouard Mendy, whilst Monaco's Krépin Diatta provided both defensive solidity and attacking thrust down Senegal's right-hand side.

🧹 5 clearences
🔥 5 duels won
👊 4 recoveries
💫 85% accurate passes
🔑 1 key pass

What a match by Krepin Diatta! 🇸🇳🤩 pic.twitter.com/202Anrj9Rg
— Ligue 1 English (@Ligue1_ENG) January 14, 2026

Senegal put their foot on the accelerator in the second half, and it was one-way traffic until Mané struck the decisive blow. Lamine Camara of AS Monaco was a big difference off the bench, complementing perfectly the more workman-like duo of Pape Gana Gueye and Idrissa Gueye.

It was Camara's initial effort that was deflected into the path of Mané, who took one touch to control and then another to blast the ball past Mohamed El Shenaway in the Egypt goal (78').

Mohamed to return to France

A goal down, Egypt pushed, but as they did throughout, they thoroughly struggled to create. They had little to show for their efforts, bar an Omar Marmoush effort in injury-time (90+4'), easily clung onto by Mendy.

And so it is the likes of Niakhaté, Camara, Sarr, Yehvann Diouf (OGC Nice), Habib Diallo (Metz), Cheikh Sabaly (Metz), Mory Diaw (Le Havre), Antoine Mendy (Nice), and Ibrahim Mbaye (PSG) who advance to this weekend's final in Morocco. Nantes' Mostafa Mohamed is the only Egypt player who will return to Ligue 1 McDonald's ahead of this weekend's action.

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