Sadio Mane has no preference whether Senegal face Africa Cup of Nations hosts Cameroon or Egypt, and his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, in Sunday’s final in Yaounde.
The 29-year-old was influential as the Teranga Lions dispatched Burkina Faso in Wednesday’s first semi-final at the Stade Amadou Ahidjo, and netted Senegal’s third three minutes from time to kill off the contest.
Mane had earlier contributed the assist for Idrissa Gueye’s goal to double Senegal’s lead after Abdou Diallo’s opener, and while Blati Toure had given Burkina Faso hope with eight minutes to play, the Senegal talisman’s 87th-minute goal ensured the Lions progressed to the final.
Ahead of Thursday’s second semi-final between Cameroon and Egypt, Mane resisted the opportunity to reveal that he’s keen to either play against or avoid his Anfield teammate Salah in the continental showpiece.
“We have no preference who we play,” Mane told GOAL after Senegal’s victory. “The only thing is that we must win it, that’s the question.
Next matches
“You can see how happy I am now, and it’s completely normal,” he added. “I’m proud personally, and I’m also happy for myself, my teammates and all the country—we played well today.
“I know it wouldn’t be an easy game, but we expected this kind of match and we won the game—that’s the most important thing.”
As has been the case throughout their Nations Cup campaign, Senegal—who are yet to score in the first half of a fixture—started slowly, with Burkina Faso enjoying several chances before the break.
Two Senegal penalty shouts were denied by VAR before the Teranga Lions took the initiative in the 70th minute.
“We had a strong team in front of us in Burkina Faso, we expected a difficult match and it was the case; they caused us a lot of problems,” he continued. “However, we showed our superiority, kept calm, settled into our game, created chances, and we deserved to win tonight.
“I try to do my best in each match, and as you saw—we had to be physically strong during the first 45-60 minutes, and we showed that today.
“We’re proud of that, and we are happy to be solid both mentally and physically.”
Senegal’s victory sends them to the Nations Cup final for the second consecutive edition of the Afcon, the first team since Egypt in 2010 to make back-to-back finals.
Their task now is to bring home the big one, with the Teranga Lions having previously featured in two finals without clinching Africa’s grandest prize.
“It’s not easy to play in two finals back to back, it’s never happened before for Senegal, but the most important thing now is that we have to get to the end—to win the tournament.”
Egypt and Cameroon meet in the second semi-final at the Stade d’Olembe on Thursday, with the winner advancing Sunday’s final at the same venue.