Yaounde, February 3 (BNA): Sadio Mane made one goal and scored the last goal himself, as Senegal beat Burkina Faso 3-1 on Wednesday to reach the Africa Cup of Nations final for the second time in a row.
Now, Senegal is hoping to finally win the title.
Mane scored a second-half goal in the 87th minute to secure a victory at Ahmedou Ahidjo Stadium in Yaounde after Senegal advanced 2-0 and then saw Burkina Faso fall back eight minutes from the end, the Associated Press reported.
Senegal will play for the African title against Egypt or hosts Cameroon, which will meet in the second semi-final on Thursday.
Half of Senegal-Burkina Faso came to life at the end of the match, with all four goals coming in the last 20 minutes.
Defender Abdou Diallo swooped in from a corner kick to give Senegal the lead in the 70th minute after fellow central defender Kalidou Koulibaly sent the ball into the goal with an overhead kick. Bamba Deng made it 2-0 in the 76th minute when Mane cleverly stole the possession of Burkina Faso defender on the sideline and crossed the board for Dieng, who had just secured the touch in front of teammate Idrissa Gueye.
Platé Toure briefly gave hope to Burkina Faso when he forced a knee cross in the 82nd minute.
But Mane seized the opportunity on a counterattack as he scrambled away from Burkina Faso’s defense and hit the ball over goalkeeper Fred Ouedraogo.
Mane accidentally ran away after scoring and ran onto the running track surrounding the pitch, where he was assaulted by his teammates.
Mane, in turn, arranged a meeting in the final between two stars of African football. Now it’s over for Liverpool’s teammate, Mohamed Salah of Egypt.
Senegal has always carried the unwelcome mark of being the best team in Africa that has never won a Nations Cup. She lost the final in 2002 and the last tournament in 2019.
Mane, coach Aliou Cisse and others from the losing effort three years ago in Egypt now have a chance to right it right away.
Burkina Faso’s main goalkeeper Herve Kofi went off on a stretcher in the first half after deviating from his line to shoot a clear ball and colliding with Senegalese Shekho Kouyate, who then landed with his full weight over Kofi.
Mane tested new goalkeeper Ouédraogo with a powerful shot that he managed to beat.
Senegal also got a penalty late in the first half for a handball against Edmund Tapsoba, who was celebrating his 23rd birthday.
He was present to see the Ethiopian referee, Malak Tesema Weisa, checking the VAR technology and then canceling the penalty kick, in addition to the yellow card he gave to Tapsoba.
Senegal finally took the lead when Diallo quickly responded to score from close range, sending a group of Senegal’s substitutes onto the pitch to celebrate with him.
While Senegal has another chance to achieve that elusive title, Burkina Faso has now lost a final and a semi-final match in its last five African Cups.
Thursday’s second semi-final will pit the two most successful teams in African Cup history against each other. Egypt has a record of seven titles and Cameroon five, and the match is a repeat of the 2017 final that Cameroon won and caused Salah perhaps the most disappointment in the Egyptian shirt.
As if that wasn’t enough, he added some spice after the Cameroon Football Federation released a video of federation president and ex-Barcelona striker Samuel Eto’o telling his players it would be a “war”.
Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz was unhappy with this choice of language, especially as it is the first match to be held at an Olympic stadium in Yaounde since the tragic shock that left eight fans dead, including two children, in the last 16 match in Cameroon last week.
Queiroz said: “I think he (Eto’o) forgot about the killing of the Cameroonians on the field several days ago, and so this declaration of war one game before shows that he has learned nothing from his time in professional football.”