Mohamed Salah has jetted off to join Egypt at the Africa Cup of Nations, with the Liverpool star desperate to win the tournament after his heartbreaking penalty shootout defeat in the 2022 final
Mohamed Salah was left in tears as Sadio Mane consoled him after Egypt’s defeat in the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations final. Mane’s Senegal triumphed on penalties nearly four years ago.
Salah has now travelled to link up with Egypt again, with uncertainty surrounding his future at Liverpool. The 33-year-old appeared emotional at the final whistle during the Reds’ victory over Brighton, just a week after claiming the club was “throwing him under the bus” and “wanting him out.”
Egypt hold the record as AFCON’s most decorated nation, having clinched the trophy an impressive seven times. However, their last triumph came in 2010 and Salah has yet to win the competition. He came agonisingly close three years ago when reaching the final, only to be denied by former team-mate Mane’s crucial penalty.
The final in Cameroon got off to a dramatic start, with Senegal awarded a spot-kick after just seven minutes. Goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal saved Mane’s effort. A tense match unfolded from that point, finishing goalless. Extra time produced several promising opportunities but no goals, meaning penalties would determine the champions.
Following two Egyptian failures from the spot, Mane took what proved to be the decisive penalty and made up for his earlier miss. Salah was designated as the fifth taker but never got his chance due to his team-mates’ mistakes.
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He was visibly devastated when the final whistle sounded, but in a touching moment, Mane approached his then-club team-mate to offer words of comfort amid the joyous scenes. The victory marked Senegal’s maiden AFCON triumph.
In an interview with L’Equipe, Mane revealed what he said to Salah in that emotional moment back in 2022. He explained: “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.”
The Senegalese forward also reflected on the pressure of taking the winning spot-kick. He added: “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.”
Senegal’s title defence in 2024 ended abruptly when they were knocked out by host nation Ivory Coast on penalties in the round of 16. Egypt, surprisingly, made it to the knockout stages without a single victory, drawing all three matches, but they too were ousted in the round of 16, losing to DR Congo on penalties.
Both Senegal and Egypt are considered strong contenders for this year’s tournament, with Salah hoping to leave behind the turmoil at Anfield. Meanwhile, Mane, now 33, will be representing Senegal in his sixth AFCON appearance.
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