Sadio Mane and Pape Gueye help Senegal fight back and advance to AFCON quarterfinals as valiant Sudan bow out
The North Eastern African country dared to dream, but their Africa Cup of Nations fairytale has come to an end after reaching the knockout stage for the first time since 1970. As the Falcons of Jediane go home, taking with them lessons learnt in Morocco, the Teranga Lions' dream of winning their second continental trophy remains alive. Now, Senegal will make their fourth quarter-final appearance in their last five outings in the continental competition.
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Senegal fight back
After conceding an early goal, Senegal managed to fight back and beat Sudan 3-1 in an Africa Cup of Nations Round of 16 encounter on Saturday at Tangier Grand Stadium.
Surprisingly, Sudan broke the deadlock in the sixth minute when Aamir Abdallah's curled effort found the left corner. Abdallah's stunning screamer from outside the box left Edouard Mendy with little chance of making a save as Sudan celebrated while Senegal were stunned.
After going down, the Lions of Teranga increased their urgency of pressing their opponents, and in the ninth minute, Sadio Mane won them a corner. The former Liverpool star won the ball in the middle of the pitch and made a few steps towards Sudan's goal, but the goalkeeper, Monged Elneel, parried the ball away for a corner.
Senegal's Ismail Jakobs became the first player in the game to be yellow-carded in the 13th minute after an awful tackle on Dahane Beida.
The Eastern Africans should have doubled their lead in the 25th minute, but Mohamed Eisa, after creating enough shooting space for himself inside Senegal's penalty box, was unable to beat Mendy. The former Chelsea goalkeeper pulled off a stunning save to deny Sudan, who were unable to make maximum use of the resultant corner kick.
Just a minute before the half-hour mark, the former AFCON champions equalised. Mane spotted Pape Gueye making runs just at the edge of the box, and the Villarreal midfielder slotted home past Elneel to restore parity.
Senegal were furious when their penalty appeals were dismissed in the 36th minute following a goalmouth melee.
Gueye's brace
Although their 43rd goal, scored by Ismaila Sarr, was ruled out for offside, Senegal took the lead in the third minute of added time for the first half. Nicolas Jackson laid the ball on the path of Pape Gueye, who managed to find the left corner as Senegal's dominance paid off just before the break.
As the second half began, an unmarked Abdallah almost caught Senegal by surprise when he launched a low shot just outside the box, but Mendy made a quick reflex to deny the Sudan's star what would have been another well-struck goal.
Senegal squandered a massive chance to extend their lead three minutes after the hour mark. Boulaye Dia, just from close range and with no one particularly marking him, sent his effort over the bar.
Krepin Diatta was involved in a goal-searching mission within a minute; in the 66th minute, he failed to locate his teammate as his rather overhit pass went out. In the 67th minute, he looked at the position of Sudan's goalkeeper and attempted to catch him off guard, but his effort was not precise enough, as it flew over the bar.
The 2021 AFCON champions scored the third goal in the 77th minute when Ibrahim Mbaye's good finishing saw the ball hit the right corner. The 17-year-old had just come on for Sarr in the 74th minute.
With seven minutes of added time, Sudan could not fight, as Senegal's comeback was complete, and they are now headed to the quarter-finals.
The MVP
Pape Gueye rose to the occasion for Senegal, who were stunned quite early in the game. After going down following a well-taken goal by Abdallah, Gueye's brace in the first half rejuvenated Senegal.
To tame a hard-fighting Sudan, the Lions of Teranga needed to create chances and score, and the midfielder provided the goals that put the West Africans in the driver's seat for the better part of the game.
The big loser
After finishing third in Group E and progressing to the round of 16 as one of the best third-placed teams in the tournament, Sudan's journey has come to an end.
They started brightly and took a shocking lead against a star-studded Senegal side whose win came about much more because of individual brilliance in their squad.
