Sadio Mane is a Champions League and Premier League title winner with Liverpool, while 2022 delivered long-awaited Africa Cup of Nations success for Senegal, but notable achievements on a World Cup stage have proved harder to come by.
There is still time for Mane to put that right, but the clock is ticking for a man that has shown at club level that he is capable of holding his own alongside the very best in the business.
What does Mane’s World Cup record look like and how has he fared when presented with opportunities to head down that path? GOAL casts an eye over the talented forward’s exploits to this point.
Sadio Mane and the 2014 World Cup
Senegal breezed through the CAF group stage of qualification for the 2014 World Cup, with an unbeaten record across six outings allowing them to progress to the play-off round.
Mane netted just once in that campaign, with a match-winning effort recorded in a 1-0 victory over Uganda in September 2013.
He was then named on the bench for the first leg of a play-off clash with Ivory Coast, but was introduced at half-time as the Elephants raced into a Didier Drogba-inspired two-goal lead.
Sengal conceded again after the break, with a stoppage-time response proving to be little more than a consolation strike.
That proved to be the case when the second leg, which Mane started, ended in a 1-1 draw.
Sadio Mane and the 2018 World Cup
Mane was very much a household name by the time Senegal made their way to the third round of CAF qualifying for the 2018 World Cup.
However, he contributed just one goal to the cause once again during an unbeaten run through six games and a relatively straightforward bid to secure tickets to a Russian showpiece.
At the finals themselves, Mane was eager to make his mark and did score the opening goal of a crucial clash with Japan on matchday two.
That contest finished 2-2, though, and ultimately cost Senegal dear as they missed out on a place in the last 16 due to fair play points – with Japan also finishing on four points in a keenly-contested Group H.
Mane figured in all three games for his nation in Russia and headed back to Anfield ready to start out on a path that would lead to domestic and continental glory with club and country.
Sadio Mane and the 2022 World Cup
Senegal dropped just two points in the group stage of qualification for the 2022 World Cup, with Mane helping to get them off to the perfect start as he found the target in three successive games to open the campaign.
The Lions of Teranga were baring their teeth and saw considerable momentum help to carry them all the way to a historic first Africa Cup of Nations crown in February – with Mane converting the winning penalty in a final shootout success against Egypt.
That rivalry, which sees an Anfield icon come up against club colleague Mohamed Salah, is set to be rekindled in the CAF play-offs, with Senegal hoping that they can once again get the better of the Pharaohs and reach the World Cup finals for only the third time.
Sadio Mane World Cup finals record
Tournaments reached | Games played | Minutes played | Goals scored |
|---|---|---|---|
1 | 3 | 270 | 1 |
Table correct at time of writing on 25/03/2022