Salah, Mane Meet Again With AFCON Final Place On The Line
Three years after they last appeared together, Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah meet again on Wednesday on opposing sides as Senegal and Egypt clash for a place in the Africa Cup of Nations final.
The last-four showdown in the Moroccan city of Tangiers will be the first time the former Liverpool teammates have shared a pitch since the Anfield club lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final in May 2022.
Shortly after that, Mane left for Bayern Munich before moving to Al-Nassr in the Saudi Pro League a year later.
Salah, meanwhile, has been heavily linked with a move to Saudi Arabia in the near future but remains for now at Liverpool despite falling out of favour with coach Arne Slot before coming to the Cup of Nations.
The Egypt captain is a man on a mission in Morocco, having scored four goals in four appearances on the Pharaoh’s run to the semi-finals as he targets winning AFCON for the first time.
Salah, who turns 34 in June, is running out of time to win a major international honour with his country having suffered the agony of two final defeats in the competition.
After being part of the Egypt side beaten by Cameroon in the 2017 final in Gabon, Salah skippered the team beaten on penalties by Senegal in 2022 in Yaounde.
Mane had a penalty saved in normal time on that dramatic night at the Olembe Stadium, but recovered to score the decisive kick in the shoot-out as Senegal became African champions for the first time.
Salah was due to take Egypt’s next penalty but would not get the chance to step up and was already on the verge of tears as Mane prepared to strike the decisive blow.
Less than two months later, the teams met again in a decisive World Cup qualifying play-off and once more penalties were needed — Salah missed, Mane scored and Senegal won.
They went on to reach the last 16 in Qatar while Egypt failed to qualify for the first World Cup held in the Arab world.
Both have qualified for the upcoming tournament in North America, providing what will perhaps be a last chance for the two veterans to star on the biggest stage of all.
