Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané to face off in African Cup of Nations final

Liverpool teammates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mané — two of African football's leading forwards — will face off as rivals for the African Cup of Nations title for the first time.

Salah didn't even get a chance to take a penalty for Egypt in a 3-1 shootout victory over Cameroon in their semi-final on Friday after the hosts failed to score three times from the spot.

It was Clinton N'Jie's miss that secured Egypt's progress after the seven-time African champions scored their first three penalties, a moment of long-overdue revenge exacted after Cameroon defeated Egypt in the 2017 AFCON final.

Goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal — who wears the name Gabaski on the back of his jersey — made two crucial saves for Egypt.

It was the sixth AFCON shoot-out in which Egypt have triumphed, including last week's quarter-final win over Ivory Coast, where Salah converted the decisive spot kick.

Egypt's performance itself was not one for the football purists, as they struggled to maintain long periods of possession and offered their star forward very little to work with. 

Cameroon will feel aggrieved that their more-aggressive press and dynamic wide players were ultimately not rewarded because both Michael Ngadeu-Ngadjui and Karl Toko Ekambi scuppered golden chances in the first half.

The game ended 0-0 after 120 minutes, with the biggest flash-point coming towards the end of regulation time when Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz was sent off.

He will now be banned from the touchline for Sunday's final.

It was the first game back at the Olembe Stadium in Yaounde since eight fans died after a crush outside Cameroon's last-16 game against Comoros last week.

The same venue will stage the final on Sunday, when Mané's Senegal will seeking their first African title