Senegal are headed back to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations after Sadio Mane scored the game’s only goal to beat Mohamed Salah’s Egypt in the first semifinal on Wednesday.

MORE — AFCON schedule, bracket

Mane’s goal came in the 78th minute, after what felt like a lifetime of waiting for one of the side to break the scoreless deadlock. Egypt attempted just three shots in the game, the first of which didn’t come until the 84th minute; the Pharaohs finished with just one shot on target, from Manchester City’s Omar Marmoush in the 95th minute. The chance itself was a bit fortuitous as Lamine Camara’s strike from 30 yards out was immediately blocked but found its way to straight to Senegal’s all-time leading goalscorer. Mane chested the ball down and sent a low laser into the bottom corner, all in the blink of an eye.

It wasn’t the first time that Mane and Salah, now former Liverpool teammates, faced off deep into the AFCoN knockout rounds, and it isn’t the first time that Mane came out on top either. Senegal beat Egypt in the 2021 final, with Mane scoring the decisive penalty after the sides played 120 minutes without a goal between them.

Senegal will face either Nigeria or the tournament hosts Morocco in the final on Sunday; Egypt will face the loser of the second semifinal in the third-place game on Saturday.

Senegal vs Egypt live updates — by Andy EdwardsSenegal vs Egypt final score: 1-0

Goalscorers: Sadio Mane (78′)

GOAL! Senegal 1-0 Egypt: Mane sticks an arrow in the bottom corner (78′)HALFTIME! Stats at the break

Possession: Senegal 70-30 Egypt
Shots: 4-0
Shots on target: 2-0
xG: 0.09-0.00

We’ll call it… a cagey affair.

INJURY! Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly down again, will have to come off (23′)

Koulibaly was booked for the second straight game a few minutes ago and was already going to miss the final or third-place game, but now he’s off for the final hour-plus after hobbling off.

Senegal lineup

Mendy, Diatta, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Diouf, Diarra, Gana Gueye, Pape Gueye, Ndiaye, Mane, Jackson

Egypt lineup

El Shennawy, Ibrahim, Fatouh, Abdelmaguid, Rabia, Hany, Fathy, Attia, Ashour, Salah, Marmoush

How to watch Senegal vs Egypt live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 12pm ET Wednesday (January 14)
Venue: Tangier Grand Stadium — Tangier, Morocco
TV Channel, Stream: beIN Sports USA

Senegal vs Egypt preview — by Joe Prince-Wright

A repeat of the 2021 AFCON final, where Senegal prevailed on penalty kicks, is a tasty proposition as Salah and Mane (both 33 years old) are still the stars of their respective teams.

Salah and Egypt edged past Ivory Coast 3-2 in the quarterfinals as Omar Marmoush and Salah were both on target and keep popping up in key moments for Egypt, with Salah scoring four goals so far in the tournament and chasing the Golden Boot.

Senegal edged past Mali 1-0 in their quarterfinal with Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye scoring and their stout defense has been the story of their tournament as Pape Thiaw’s team have conceded just two goals in five games.

Senegal team news, focus

Mane and Iliman Ndiaye will start out wide and Senegal’s sturdy defensive unit is led by experienced duo Kalidou Koulibaly at center back and Edouard Mendy in goal. With Idrissa Gueye mopping things up in midfield Senegal are a very tough team to break down and have serious quality on the counter attack.

Egypt team news, focus

Salah will of course be the main threat for Egypt but Marmoush stepped up in the quarterfinal with a big early goal and will be needed to stretch Senegal’s solid defense. Egypt haven’t looked great defensively and may need to embrace the chaos of an end-to-end game, and rely on the quality of Salah and Marmoush, if they’re going to reach the final.

Senegal vs Egypt prediction

This feels like it will go to extra time and it is very evenly matched. Go for Salah to turn on the style and lead Egypt to the final. Senegal 1-2 Egypt.