When Sadio Mane rammed Senegal into the lead that would take them to the final of the Africa Cup of Nations with 12 minutes remaining in Tangier, Egypt were still waiting to register their first shot on target.
Think about that for a moment. Egypt, with Mohamed Salah and Omar Marmoush in attack, had not struggled for goals in this tournament — it had been the best AFCON in Salah’s career in terms of that particular yield.
Yet you got the feeling that had they reached extra time with precisely the same xG as they had at kick-off, they’d have been pretty satisfied.
Their coach, Hossam Hassan, later said it was “unfair” that Senegal had more time to prepare for this game and did not have to travel outside of a city where they have been based since the middle of December, unlike Egypt who relocated from just outside Agadir.
Egypt were not as fresh but their attempt at catenaccio meant the flow of this contest went something like this: a Senegal shot from distance, then goalkeeper Mohamed El Shenawy kicking the ball away as quickly as possible, with seemingly little regard for how accurate the outcome might be.
Senegal were more adventurous but they were not great themselves and barely looked like scoring. Their victory could not be described as deserved but Mane gave a reminder why, along with Salah, he has been one of Africa’s two outstanding footballers for over a decade.
His strike from outside the box was not a consequence of pressure from Senegal. The ball went up, Egypt failed to clear it adequately as they had done many times before, and he pounced. El Shenawy — at 37 years old, it has to be stressed — reacted to the threat zipping his way like a slip fielder in a veteran cricket league.
Not once did Egypt give the impression they were capable of carving a remotely similar chance for Salah. His service was almost exclusively a long, diagonal pass from the other side of the pitch and from there, he was challenged to conjure up some magic for himself, many yards from most of his teammates, wary of pushing forward because of perceived Senegalese threats on the counter-attack.
Given this never happened, it is tempting to conclude that Salah has ultimately failed again in this competition through his own individual genius to lift the performance of lesser-talented teammates, allowing them to operate in a higher realm than they would ordinarily be capable of reaching.
In truth, Morocco 2025 was a better tournament than many Egyptians thought was possible. It was a decent one for Salah, who should return to Liverpool with confidence. Yet for a footballer of his standing, it is imaginable that when he reflects about what has happened over the last four weeks, he will not consider decent as being quite good enough.
It will hurt that, once again, Senegal — a country with a smaller population than Cairo — and especially Mane have got the better of him. The players are, of course, old partners from Liverpool whose personal ambitions clashed, occasionally making them seem like foes.
As far as international football goes, the scoreline between the pair now reads Mane three, Salah nil because of victories for Senegal in the final of this competition four years ago, a World Cup qualification play-off a month later, and now this.
Sadio Mane again got the better of Mohamed Salah on the international stage (Sebastien Bozon/AFP/Getty Images)
There is little doubt that Salah is the greatest Egyptian footballer of all time. By comparison, Ivory Coast won AFCON the year after Didier Drogba retired from international duty without ever winning the competition, and he is still regarded as the greatest Ivorian of all time.
Yet distinctions in this conversation can be made. Salah’s status does not necessarily mean he qualifies as the country’s greatest in the colours of the national team.
Maybe it is unfair that he is judged against the achievements of players who delivered an unprecedented three AFCON titles in a row just before his professional career started. None of those players were performing amidst the political and social turmoil which ripped through Egypt just as Salah was trying to make a name for himself. Before that, none of those legendary figures were capable of firing the country to a World Cup like Salah has on two occasions.
Yet Salah knows how history works. If he retired now without an AFCON title, it would be a mark against his name. Lionel Messi had the same problem before lifting the Copa America in 2021, his first international trophy, at 34, the age Salah will turn next summer.
Messi’s story reminds us that there is still time. Unlike Mane, who has said this is his last AFCON, Salah will get another chance to change the record next year when AFCON is held in Tanzania, Kenya and Uganda, and maybe another chance after that in 2028 if the Confederation of African Football’s promises about scheduling is to be believed.
After stopping him on this occasion, Mane suggested Salah should “not give up on his dream”, and the comment felt slightly jarring. Knowing Salah, he will probably use it as motivation if he appears again in a setting like this.
