The 2025 Africa Cup of Nations will soon get underway, almost four years on from a pair of Liverpool greats going head-to-head for the trophy in the form of Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane
Mohamed Salah burst into tears and had to be consoled by Sadio Mane after losing the Africa Cup of Nations final in 2022. Mane’s Senegal prevailed via penalty shootout nearly four years ago.
Salah has jetted off to join up with Egypt once again, with his situation at club Liverpool up in the air. The 33-year-old seemed emotional at full-time during the Reds’ win against Brighton, which came one week after he accused the club of “throwing him under the bus” and “wanting him out.”
Egypt are the most successful nation in AFCON history, winning the tournament a whopping seven times. But the last of these wins came in 2010 and Salah has not lifted the trophy. He came close three years ago when reaching the final, but was denied by former team-mate Mane’s decisive spot kick.
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The final in Cameroon began in dramatic fashion, with Senegal awarded a penalty and Mane’s effort being saved by goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal after just seven minutes.
From there, a cagey tie played out and ended 0-0. No goals were scored in added time despite a few decent chances, and so a penalty shootout was to decide the title.
After two Egyptian misses, Mane stepped up to take what would be the winning penalty and made amends for his earlier blunder. Salah was appointed as the fifth penalty-taker but didn’t get the opportunity thanks to his team-mate’s errors as Mane converted.
The Egyptian was distraught after the whistle blew and in a heartwarming act, Mane went over to console Salah amidst the vibrant celebrations. The win had handed Senegal their first-ever AFCON title.
Speaking to The TeamMane opened up about what he told Salah back in 2022. He said: “We’d been teasing each other a lot before the Africa Cup of Nations and I suspected he was bound to be very disappointed.
“I wasn’t about to leave him without a word, though. What I did, he would have done the same, even if things had turned out differently. I said something simple to try and comfort him, asking him not to let it get him down.”
Mane continued, touching on his decisive penalty: “As I walked there, looking at the penalty spot in the distance, my first thought was: ‘This is going to be a long walk.’
“I admit I would have preferred to only walk ten metres before taking the shot. But in the end, it allowed me to gradually calm down. My mind was racing, though.
“I was thinking that seventeen million Senegalese people were waiting for me, watching me. That’s a heavy burden. I couldn’t let them down. I was also wondering how I was going to beat that goalkeeper who had saved my penalty earlier.
“I absolutely had to redeem myself. But, strangely enough, the closer I got, the more reassured I became. I kept repeating to myself everything my team-mates had just told me before I went to shoot.
“They surrounded me, saying, ‘Sadio, we’re going to do it. We have complete faith in you. We’re going to succeed together, just like we have since the beginning of the competition.’ That collective strength is what allowed us to go all the way and kept me from trembling.”
When Senegal went to defend their crown at the last AFCON, they were dumped out by hosts Ivory Coast on penalties in the round of 16. Egypt surprisingly advanced to the knockouts without winning a single game, drawing all three, but they too were eliminated in the round of 16, losing to DR Congo on penalties.
Both Senegal and Egypt are among the favourites for this year’s competition, where Salah will aim to put the commotion occurring at Anfield behind him. Mane, on the other hand, will be present with Senegal at the age of 33 as he makes his sixth AFCON appearance.
