We are at the semi-final stage of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) with Egypt, Nigeria, Senegal and tournament hosts Morocco all in the hunt for continental glory.
Wednesday’s matches serve up a treat too with Senegal facing Egypt at 5pm before Nigeria take on Morocco at 8pm.
The former clash is bound to be a tantalising one with the sub-plot of Sadio Mane versus Mohamed Salah once more.
Their careers are forever intwined by their time at Liverpool – with their five seasons there yielding six major honours, including a Premier League title and Champions League.
But despite their success there has always been the element of a rivalry to their relationship which will come to the fore once again on Wednesday at the Tangier Grand Stadium.
Salah is Egypt’s captain and has the weight of his nation in more ways than one. Aside from being their talisman too, Egypt are the most successful country in AFCON history as seven-time champions – but have not won it since 2010.
Senegal talisman Sadio Mane (left) will face Egypt captain Mohamed Salah in the Africa Cup of Nations semi-final on Wednesday at the Tangier Grand Stadium in Morocco
The pair were devastating during five seasons together at Liverpool – winning eight major titles
That triumph 16 years ago came a year before Salah’s international debut. The 33-year-old has twice finished as a runner-up in the competition in 2017 and 2021 – with the latter’s defeat coming at the hands of Mane’s Senegal.
‘Nobody, even in Egypt, wants to win this trophy more than me,’ Salah said after helping his team beat Ivory Coast in the quarter-finals.
‘I have won almost every prize. This is the title I am waiting for.’
As Salah alludes to this, this title is something Mane has already acquired – cementing his place further within African footballing history, let alone Senegal’s.
In the delayed 2021 showpiece held in Cameroon (which actually took place across January-February 2022), Mane saw a seventh-minute penalty saved as the match finished 0-0 in normal time and then extra-time. However, he redeemed himself in the penalty shootout by scoring the winning spot-kick to lead his country to their maiden continental title.
‘It’s the best day of my life and the best trophy of my life,’ the ecstatic forward said at the time.
‘I won the Champions League and some [other] trophies but this is the special one for me. This is more important for me.
‘I am happy for myself, my people and all of my family.’
Mane celebrates after helping Senegal win the delayed 2021 AFCON final with a win over Egypt
Mane comforts Salah after Egypt lost that final in a penalty shootout to his Senegal side
While Mane was celebrating, a downbeat Salah could only watch on after losing another final
While Mane was being lauded, Salah could only watch on in an agonising manner. He didn’t take a spot-kick during that shootout as he was designated as the fifth and final taker but then left unused after Mohamed Abdelmonem hit a post and Mohanad Lasheen saw his effort saved.
Just a month later, Mane’s side inflicted more pain on Salah and his team-mates as they beat them over two-legs in a World Cup play-off for the Qatar edition.
With both sides winning 1-0 on home soil, Senegal won the battle from 12 yards – which included Salah blazing his effort over the bar, this time taking his country’s first penalty. To make matters worse for Salah it was Mane who scored the winner in a repeat of the emotions that both teams felt during that AFCON final.
Salah will be desperate to exact revenge on Mane this time around and he could be fuelled even further by comments made by his ex-Liverpool team-mate two months ago.
Last year, Salah admitted to L’Equipe that there ‘was tension’ between them.
A month later, Mane’s matchwinning penalty saw Senegal beat Egypt in a shootout to reach the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at their expense
‘We were professional until the end, I don’t think it affected the team,’ the Egyptian star revealed. ‘Off the pitch, we weren’t very close, but we always respected each other.’
The tension was perhaps most evident during their infamous bust-up at Burnley in August 2019. Liverpool won that match 3-0 but it was overshadowed by Mane’s furious reaction at being substituted in the 85th minute as Salah had refused to pass to him moments earlier to score their fourth goal of the day.
A clip of the Liverpool team returning to the dressing room later went viral, with Roberto Firmino seen smirking at the camera as he walked between Mane and Salah.
Appearing on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast in November, Mane went into detail about that incident.
The 33-year-old, who currently plays for Saudi Pro League club Al-Nassr, said: ‘Everybody says the same (that there was a rivalry) but I don’t think it’s a bad thing.
In August 2019, Mane was furious at Salah’s refusal to pass to him during a 3-0 win at Burnley
A clip of the Liverpool team returning to the dressing room after the match finished went viral, with Roberto Firmino seen smirking at the camera as he walked between Mane and Salah
Speaking in November, Mane reflected on the incident which made him ‘really angry’
‘I’m someone who is quiet, but I’m friendly with everybody in the team. I think Mo is also a very nice guy.
‘I think though, on the pitch, you saw – sometimes he would pass to me, sometimes he wouldn’t pass to me; sometimes he would pass to me, sometimes he wouldn’t pass to me. Only Bobby (Roberto Firmino) was there to share the ball.
‘And I still remember one game [against Burnley] when I was really, really angry because he didn’t pass to me when he should have.
‘I was really angry after the game. The next day he came up to me. He wanted to talk to me, but he didn’t know how to say it. He still thought I was angry at him because we hadn’t seen each other (the night before), we just went home.
‘He said, “Can we talk?” I said, “OK, no problem, we go.” And he said, “You think I didn’t want to pass to you? I didn’t score. Bobby scored. But even when I got the ball, I wasn’t thinking or see you to pass. I just got the ball and I wanted to shoot. But I have nothing against you. And honestly, if I can pass to you and if I see you, I will do”.’
‘I said, “No, don’t worry. It passed, it passed. I was angry because I think you can pass to me more with your quality”.’
Contrary to popular belief, Mane reveals that the incident actually brought them closer together until his departure for Bayern Munich in 2022.
‘I think since that day we became even closer. And sometimes it happens. For me, it wasn’t personal. He just wants to score, score, score.
‘And then I said to him: “Mo, I can help you a lot because I know you want to be a top scorer. I can help you because I don’t have this problem. I’ll help you more”.’
That sentiment won’t apply on Wednesday as Mane looks for a hat-trick of major international feats over Salah.
And of their relationship, proof will be in the pudding come the full-time whistle on Wednesday when one of these African greats will be celebrating reaching the AFCON final and the other in despair.
With both turning 34 later this year (Mane in April and Salah in June) there may not be many opportunities for these two to go head-to-head on the biggest stages against each other, let alone compete for the biggest of prizes for their countries.
All eyes on the Tangier Grand Stadium then.
