Senegal come from behind to defeat Sudan 3-1 on Saturday and become the first side to book a place in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals, with midfielder Pape Gueye scoring twice.
Senegal, the 2021 Cup of Nations winners, fell behind following a moment of brilliance from Aamir Abdallah in their last-16 clash at the Grande Stade Tangier before Gueye scored twice while 17-year-old Ibrahima Mbaye added a third 13 minutes from the end.
While Gueye got his name on the board, Sadio Mane played his part as well. The veteran Senegal captain provided two assists – for Gueye’s second goal and Mbaye’s strike – moving him clear at the top of the Afcon all-time assists chart with nine, two more than Ivory Coast great Yaya Toure.
After the win, Gueye said the fightback shown by the team was as valuable as the result.
“I am happy to have won the award and obviously it was the collective team effort that led to the award, so this is for the entire team. I am very happy about our win and most importantly how we reacted after going down 1-0,” he told the Afcon website.
“It was tough to come back but with the determination shown by my colleagues and I we managed to win the game. We are through to the quarter-finals and it will be tougher so we have to prepare for it with the same big focus we have had since the start of the competition.”
Meanwhile, coach Walid Regragui warned Afcon hosts Morocco to not get too confident about their chances in Sunday’s last-16 clash against Tanzania.
Morocco are the top ranked team in the tournament and favourites against Tanzania, who squeezed into the knockouts as part of the best third-placed finishers.
They did so without winning a game and their two points from three Group C matches is the lowest tally of points in tournament history for a team advancing to the last-16.
“We hear that we are the overwhelming favourites, that we should win easily, and everyone says that if Morocco do not win, it is a failure, that if Morocco does not win easily, it is a failure,” Regragui said on Saturday.
“My job and the job of the staff and the senior players is to keep our feet on the ground and remember why Morocco has not won the Cup of Nations in 50 years.
“We have not won it because I think that at some point, we lacked humility in every competition, and we must not fall into that trap.”
