Mane nets late winner to send Senegal past Egypt and into AFCON final

In a repeat of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) final, Senegal were triumphant again over Egypt as they beat the Pharaohs 1-0 to reach the final of the 2026 tournament, meaning the Lions of Teranga have now won 11 of their last 12 games against African opposition (D1).

Drama certainly outweighed chances in the first half with Egypt failing to register a single shot, but Senegal also lacked a cutting edge. Mohamed El Shenawy produced comfortable saves from Habib Diarra and Pape Gueye, while Nicolas Jackson struck wildly over from a decent position. 

Though Senegal had the best of the play though, they were hit by a blow when captain Kalidou Kouilbaly had to come off injured, and both him and Diarra picked up yellow cards which meant they would miss the final if the Lions of Teranga got there.

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Senegal continued to dominate after the restart, but again struggled to break down a stubborn Egyptian defence. They tried more shots from distance, with substitute Lamine Camara the latest to fire straight into El Shenawy’s grateful arms.

It took 78 minutes for them to finally find the breakthrough, as the ball fell kindly to the talismanic Sadio Mane, who recorded his fifth goal contribution of the tournament with a lovely strike from the edge of the box.

That was his 11th goal at AFCON, which put him level with ex-Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah.

Egypt showed nothing all game to suggest they would equalise, and in the end the latter stages were comfortable for a Senegal side who have now reached the final in three of their last five AFCON appearances.

The Pharaohs were emphatically denied the chance to play at what would have been their 10th AFCON final, and ultimately managed just one shot on target.