Sadio Mane fires Senegal into World Cup

 Sadio Mane

Senegal's Sadio Mane (centre) controls the ball during their World Cup 2022 qualifying match against Egypt at the Me Abdoulaye Wade Stadium in Diamniadio on March 29, 2022.
 

Photo credit: Seylou | AFP

What you need to know:

  • Senegal won the second leg of the African play-off 1-0 thanks to a fourth-minute goal from Boulaye Dia and the teams finished level at 1-1 on aggregate after extra time.
  • As was the case in the Africa Cup of Nations final last month, Mane was entrusted with taking the crucial fifth Senegal kick and once again he made no mistake to give his side a 3-1 victory in the shoot-out. 

Diamniadio, Senegal

Liverpool star Sadio Mane converted a shoot-out penalty on Tuesday to take African champions Senegal to the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the expense of Egypt.

Senegal won the second leg of the African play-off 1-0 in in Diamniadio thanks to a fourth-minute goal from Boulaye Dia and the teams finished level at 1-1 on aggregate after extra time.

As was the case in the Africa Cup of Nations final last month, Mane was entrusted with taking the crucial fifth Senegal kick and once again he made no mistake to give his side a 3-1 shoot-out victory.

Among the three Egyptians who failed to score in the shoout-out was Sane's Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, who uncharacteristically blazed his kick over the crossbar.

World Cup

Egypt supporters watch the second leg of their 2022 Qatar World Cup African Qualifiers match against Senegal on March 29, 2022, in the capital Cairo.
 

Photo credit: Ahmed Hasan | AFP

As Senegal celebrated a second straight qualification for the World Cup, Egypt were left to lament another dramatic loss to Senegal this year.

There were no goals in the Cup of Nations final that went to extra time in Yaounde last month, leading to a shoot-out which Senegal won 4-2 with Mane converting the fifth penalty for his side.