Wily Egypt block Senegal's path to first Cup of Nations title

Senegal once again stand on the brink of a first Africa Cup of Nations title but they must get the better of record seven-time champions Egypt in Sunday's final in Yaounde which sees Liverpool stars Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah face off for the trophy.

It has been a difficult tournament for Cameroon, scarred by the deadly Olembe Stadium crush of January 24 and troubled by organisational chaos and poor attendances, yet it has thrown up a heavyweight final showdown between two African giants.

Cameroon hoped to be there themselves, but the five-time AFCON winners who dreamed of lifting the trophy on home soil were beaten on penalties by the Egyptians in Thursday's semi-final.

LIVE | Afcon: Egypt knock out host nation Cameroon to set up dream Salah v Mane finale

As a country, Egypt have the experience of seven past Cup of Nations victories, although the most recent was in 2010 when they claimed their third in a row.

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Salah made his international debut the following year and is now desperate to win silverware with the Pharaohs having already been in the team that lost the 2017 final to Cameroon and then went out prematurely as hosts in 2019.

Senegal, meanwhile, have the status of Africa's top-ranked national team but also the pressure of a nation to finally claim their first Cup of Nations crown after losing to Algeria in the deciding game two and a half years ago.

"We knew it was not going to be at all easy to get to two straight AFCON finals, but the most important for us now is to go all the way and win it," Mane said after scoring one goal and making another in the 3-1 semi-final defeat of Burkina Faso.

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