Sadio Mane-inspired Senegal and Mali hosted the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations

Sadio Mane led Senegal to the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations on Saturday after a 3-1 win over Sudan in Tangier.

The 2019 and 2022 African Footballer of the Year chased and harassed, creating goals and chances for teammates, leading by example in the absence of suspended captain Kalidou Koulibaly.

Mane set up midfielder Pape Gueye’s first goal and replaced Ibrahim Mbaye’s goal to send the Lions of Teranga, the 2021 champions, through to a quarter-final against Mali, who held out with 10 men on a cold, wet night in Casablanca and beat Tunisia 3-2 in a penalty shootout.

“We had to dig deep,” said Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, whose team suffered an early setback when Aamir Abdallah stunned the favorites with Sudan’s opener in the sixth minute mvkl.

It was the first and last goal scored by a Sudanese player in the tournament. The Falcons of Jediane defeated Equatorial Guinea in the group stage thanks to an own goal.

The Sudanese, who played all their qualifying matches away from home as the country grapples with a brutal war and humanitarian crisis, were brave against Senegal.

“I am sure the Sudanese people know that we came to this match and represented them proudly,” said Sudan coach James Kwesi Appiah.

However, Senegal was a challenge too far.

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Mane set up Gueye to score in the 29th. Gueye also got the second before half time, set up by Jackson. The 19-year-old Mbaye made his appearance as a substitute in the 74th and Mane ensured the youngster finished with a break three minutes later.

El Bilal Toure fired Mali into the quarter-finals with the winning penalty in a 3-2 shootout victory over Tunisia after they finished 1-1 in extra time.

Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra saved two penalties to make up for misses by Yves Bissouma and Dorgeles Nene as the Eagles set up a showdown with Senegal in Tangier on January 9.

Tunisia had to rue Ali Abdi’s miss and save Diarra to deny Elias Achouri and Mohamed Ben Romdhane. They failed to beat Mali despite having an extra player from the 26th minute, when Woyo Coulibaly was shown a red card for a dangerous tackle on Hannibal Mejbri.

It was one of many bad tackles. Referee Abongile Tom had already handed out four yellow cards before the red.

Coulibaly was the second Malian player in two games, after Amadou Haidara against Comoros.

Even after the elimination, neither Mali nor Tunisia managed to shoot on target in the first half.

Fans had to wait until the 88th for Elias Saad to cross over to Firas Chaouat to headline what many thought would be Tunisia’s winner.

But Tunisian defender Yassine Meriah conceded a penalty in stoppage time, and Lassine Sinayoko equalized from the spot, sending the match to extra time. It was Mali’s first shot on target.

Sinayoko also scored in the shootout to bring the team back on level terms after Mali captain Yves Bissouma started overshooting his penalty.

Published on January 4, 2026