Senegal v Egypt live: Mane strikes late in Afcon semi-final to deal Salah more heartbreak
Senegal 1-0 Egypt: Mane was once again the hero for the Teranga Lions and they will now face either hosts Morocco or Nigeria in the final
Sadio Mane’s late goal sent Senegal through to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with a deserved victory over Egypt, as Mohamed Salah’s latest bid for a first trophy with his country ended in more heartbreak at the hands of his former Liverpool team-mate.
Mane’s 79th minute winner, fired low into the net from 20 yards, means Senegal will bid for a second Africa Cup of Nations title in three tournaments against either hosts Morocco or Nigeria, who meet in the second semi-final tonight.
Senegal, champions in 2021, had the vast majority of possession and chances in a tight, often heated, semi-final. Egypt had just two shots in the entire match as they paid the price for an overly defensive approach.
Mane, meanwhile, was Senegal’s hero against Egypt once again. He scored the winning penalty in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final against Egypt, and also scored the winning penalty in the 2022 World Cup play-offs, which also came against Salah’s side.
Follow all the action from Senegal v Egypt in our live blog below
Senegal into the Afcon final
This will be Senegal’s fourth Afcon final.
They lost in the showpiece in 2002 and 2019, to Cameroon and Algeria respectively, before beating Egypt on penalties in 2021.
Up next: Nigeria v Morocco
Senegal will find out their opponents very shortly as Nigeria face Morocco in the other semi-final.
Kick-off is at 8pm GMT and it’s live on E4, and you can follow all the action with our liveblog here:
Nigeria v Morocco live: Afcon 2025 latest score and semi-final updates
Sadio Mane is Senegal's hero again
Sadio Mane has been directly involved in more Afcon goals than anyone since he made his debut in the 2010 edition.
He is also the first player to reach 20 goal involvement at Afcon: 11 goals and nine assists.
That also moves him level with Salah on 11 Afcon goals.
Senegal to face Morocco or Nigeria
The cameras now pan to Morocco and Nigeria as they arrive for the second of these semi-finals. Very different vibes: the host nation look tense, while the Super Eagles are jamming out to some tunes blared on a speaker.
Salah's wait for Afcon title goes on
Salah’s wait for an Afcon title continues. This is now the fifth straight time Egypt have been beaten in the knockout stages. How many more chances will he get?
Senegal into the Afcon final
The way Hossam Hassan has set his side up has come in for criticism and that will only increase now. It was an incredibly defensive set-up, which would maybe have been more palatable if they actually offered anything on the counter... but they didn’t.
It took until the 84th minute for them to win a corner, and Hassan’s decision to bring on an extra three strikers late on wasn’t enough.
It looked like their tactic was to drag things out until penalties from the get-go, and it backfired spectacularly.
Senegal into the Afcon final
They replay the goal now; Camara’s strike ricocheted off the defenders and it took a moment of magic for Mane to run onto it before Egypt could regroup, blasting into the back of the net.
Earlier in the move there was a shout for offside on Jackson, who cut it back from the byline, but replays show it would have been only by millimetres at most and rather harsh.
Senegal into the Afcon final
Interesting from Mane at the end, not much celebrating, instead gesturing for his teammates to remain calm, as if to say ‘it’s not over yet’. And of course, there is a final to win.
Dismay writ large on the Egypt players’ faces but Salah took it on the chin; it looked like he knew they didn’t turn up tonight.
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