Rabat: Sadio Mané led Senegal to the quarterfinals of the Africa Cup of Nations after a 3-1 win over Sudan in Tangier.
The 2019 and 2022 African footballer of the year chased and harried, and set up goals and chances for teammates, leading by example in the absence of suspended captain Kalidou Koulibaly.
Mané set up midfielder Pape Gueye’s first goal of two and substitute Ibrahim Mbaye’s goal to send the Lions of Teranga, the 2021 champions, through to a quarterfinal against Mali, which held on with 10 men on a cold, wet night in Casablanca to beat Tunisia 3-2 in a penalty shootout.
“We needed to dig deep,” said Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, whose team faced an early setback when Aamir Abdallah stunned the favorites with Sudan’s opener in the sixth minute. It was the first and last goal scored by a Sudanese player in the tournament. The
Falcons of Jediane defeated Equatorial Guinea in the group stage thanks to an own goal.
The Sudanese, who played all of their qualifying matches away from home as the country contends with a brutal war and humanitarian crisis, were bold against Senegal. “I am sure the Sudanese
people know that we came to this competition and proudly represented them,” Sudan coach James Kwesi
Appiah said.