Former champions Senegal came from behind to beat Sudan 3-1 in Tangier on Saturday evening and book their place in the quarter-finals of the TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Morocco 2025.
Aamir Abdallah had given Sudan a shock lead, but Senegal responded with authority, Pape Gueye who plays as a defensive midfielder for La Liga club Villarreal netting a decisive brace before substitute Ibrahima Mbaye sealed the victory late on.
While Gueye took centre stage with his goals, history also beckoned for Sadio Mané. The 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 Côte d’Ivoire legend Yaya Touré.
Senegal coach Pape Thiaw: “We played against this very disciplined Sudan team and they showed that they got to stage by merit. We needed to dig deep to come from a goal down to be able to win the match. I give credit to my players for the way they focused on the game and recovered to win the match. Now we will focus on the next match by correcting some of the mistakes we noted in this game and pursue our goals with intensity.”
Sudan coach Kwesi Appiah: “Of course I am disappointed with the result of the game but proud of the effort of my players throughout this competition. We played against a very experienced Senegal team but we showed our quality. Despite the result tonight I am sure the Sudanese people know that we came to this competition and proudly represented them.”