Senegal has once again shown that they are superior to Egypt on the African football scene as they narrowly got the better of the Pharaohs 1-0 to secure their place in the final of the 2026 Africa Cup of Nations after a very close semifinal game.
The Lions of Teranga were the better side in a replay of the 2021 AFCON final and controlled the game right from the beginning even though there were very few clear chances in the first half, which was more about caution than creativity by the two sides. Egypt was unable to register a single shot in the first half, while Senegal had shots from Habib Diarra and Pape Gueye that were easily saved by Mohamed EL Shenawy. Nicolas Jackson also failed to score despite having an almost goal-bound shot as he fired over from close range.
Khalidou Koulibaly, Senegal’s captain, had to be substituted after sustaining an injury, and that was a blow for Senegal, especially as both he and Diarra were shown yellow cards, which means that they will not be available for the final.
After the interval, Senegal kept their grip on the game but couldn’t find a way through the solid Egyptian defense. It was only in the 78th minute that the deadlock was broken when Sadio Mané calmly finished a nice pass from outside the box, and that was his fifth goal involvement in this tournament and 11th in AFCON history.
Not much was done by Egypt to change the outcome, as they had only one shot on target, as the Senegalese side deserved to win and is going to their third AFCON final in five tournaments.
