Senegal once again proved their dominance over Egypt on the Afcon stage, delivering a commanding semi-final victory to book another place in the final. Having lifted the Africa Cup of Nations trophy only once before—after defeating Egypt on penalties in the 2021 final—the Teranga Lions have now knocked out the same rivals with authority. A solitary strike from Sadio Mane was enough to silence Mohamed Salah and seal a 1-0 win.
The result sends Senegal into their third Afcon final in the last four tournaments, underlining their growing consistency at the continental level.
Mane Makes the Difference Again
The first semi-final, played on Wednesday at the Grand Stadium in Tangier, Morocco, saw Senegal control proceedings from start to finish. With superior possession and attacking intent, the defending champions kept Egypt pinned back for long periods.
After a scoreless first half, the breakthrough finally arrived in the 78th minute. Lamine Kamara’s long-range effort was blocked outside the box, but the loose ball fell kindly for Mane. The forward wasted no time, drilling a low shot from around 20 yards past the Egyptian goalkeeper.
Reflecting on the moment, Mane later said,
“𝑾𝒆 𝒔𝒕𝒂𝒚𝒆𝒅 𝒑𝒂𝒕𝒊𝒆𝒏𝒕 𝒂𝒏𝒅 𝒃𝒆𝒍𝒊𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒅 𝒕𝒉𝒆 𝒈𝒐𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒐𝒖𝒍𝒅 𝒄𝒐𝒎𝒆. 𝑻𝒉𝒊𝒔 𝒕𝒆𝒂𝒎 𝒏𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓 𝒔𝒕𝒐𝒑𝒔 𝒇𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕𝒊𝒏𝒈.”
The goal was historic for the Al-Nassr star, as it marked his 53rd international goal in 125 appearances, making him Senegal’s all-time leading scorer.
Salah Frustrated as Egypt Falls Short
Egypt attempted a late push for an equaliser, but clear chances were hard to come by. In stoppage time, Omar Marmoush fired in a long-range effort, only for the Senegalese goalkeeper to make a crucial save and preserve the lead.
Mohamed Salah, who had scored four goals in the tournament, struggled to influence the game. His wait for a first major international trophy with Egypt continues, a frustration echoed by many fans.
As one Egyptian supporter summed it up,
“𝑰𝒕 𝒋𝒖𝒔𝒕 𝒘𝒂𝒔𝒏’𝒕 𝒐𝒖𝒓 𝒏𝒊𝒈𝒉𝒕—𝑺𝒆𝒏𝒆𝒈𝒂𝒍 𝒘𝒆𝒓𝒆 𝒔𝒉𝒂𝒓𝒑𝒆𝒓 𝒊𝒏 𝒆𝒗𝒆𝒓𝒚 𝒅𝒆𝒑𝒂𝒓𝒕𝒎𝒆𝒏𝒕.”
Statistically, Senegal’s superiority was clear. They enjoyed 64 percent possession and registered 12 shots, four of them on target. Egypt managed just three attempts, with only one troubling the goalkeeper.
Senegal will now face Morocco in the Afcon final on Sunday at 1 a.m., after the hosts edged Nigeria on penalties in the second semi-final.
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