Mane scored the winning goal in the 78th minute, sending Senegal to face either Morocco or Nigeria in Sunday’s final.
Published January 14, 2026
Coach Sadio Mane guided Senegal to a 1-0 victory over seven-time winners Egypt in the African Cup of Nations final to advance to the final.
The two-time African Player of the Year broke the deadlock in the 78th minute on Wednesday with a shot into the bottom left corner from just outside the penalty area after Lamine Kamara’s first shot was blocked.
Recommended stories
list of 4 itemsend of list
This caused joy and relief among Teranga Lions fans in Tangier. After defeating Egypt in the final, the 2021 champions took the initiative but struggled to create clear chances against the Pharaohs’ stubborn defence.
Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly will miss the title match against hosts Morocco or Nigeria in Rabat later on Wednesday after receiving a suspended yellow card and being forced off injured in the 23rd minute.
Koulibaly was booked for a tactical foul on Omar Marmouche in the 17th inning. The captain was also sent off in the group stage match against Benin, resulting in them missing out on the win against Sudan. An injury forced him to be replaced by Mamadou Sarr, effectively ending his tournament.
Just before Senegal indicated their intention to attack further, Nicholas Jackson fired a shot. Habib Diarra and Pape Gueye also saved effort.
Mohamed Salah’s foul on former Liverpool teammate Mane caused tensions, but Senegal manager Pape Tiao and Egypt international Hossam Hassan managed to ease the mood.
However, Senegal’s Habib Diarra has been cautioned for an alleged altercation and will miss the final.
Salah took a dangerous free-kick, but it went through a number of players and was ruled out before the end of the first half. This was the closest the Pharaohs came to scoring.
The pattern of the first half continued as the semi-finals passed the hour mark. Egypt were content to give Senegal more possession and were confident of erasing the threat to El-Shenawy.
With 15 minutes left in regular time, Egypt had no shots on target and were not forced into a corner kick.
Finally, with 12 minutes remaining, Senegal’s pressure was rewarded with a goal from two-time African Player of the Year Mane.
Kamara’s ambitious long-range shot was deflected by Mane, and his low shot went past El Shenawy and into the goal.
Marmouche was saved in second-half stoppage time as Egypt’s desperate attempts yielded no result.
