Salah and Mane face off once more for spot in AFCON final
Three years since their previous appearance together Sadio Mane and Mohamed Salah will confront each other on Wednesday representing opposing teams as Senegal takes on Egypt for a chance to reach the Africa Cup of Nations final.
The semi final clash in the Moroccan city of Tangiers marks the first occasion these ex Liverpool colleagues have been on the same field since Anfield lost to Real Madrid in the Champions League final back in May 2022.
Soon after that Mane transferred to Bayern Munich and then a year on to Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League.
Salah on the other hand has faced strong rumours of a switch to Saudi Arabia soon but stays at Liverpool currently even after losing favour with manager Arne Slot prior to attending the Cup of Nations.
As Egypts captain he is driven in Morocco with four goals across four matches in the Pharaohs path to the semi finals aiming to secure his first AFCON victory.
Turning 34 in June Salah has limited opportunities left to claim a significant international trophy for Egypt after enduring the pain of two final losses in the event.
He was involved in the Egypt team defeated by Cameroon in the 2017 final in Gabon and later led the side that fell to Senegal on penalties in 2022 in Yaounde.
Mane saw a penalty stopped during regular play that intense evening at Olembe Stadium but bounced back to net the winning shot in the penalty shoot out helping Senegal claim their inaugural African championship.
Salah was set to take Egypts following penalty yet did not get the opportunity and was close to crying as Mane lined up for the crucial strike.
Not even two months afterwards the sides clashed again in a key World Cup qualifier play off requiring penalties once more with Salah missing and Mane converting leading to Senegals success.
Senegal advanced to the round of 16 in Qatar whereas Egypt missed out on the inaugural World Cup in the Arab world.
Both nations have secured spots for the next event in North America offering possibly a final shot for these experienced players to shine on the worlds grandest platform.
Under the spotlight
At present though focus lies on continental dominance with Senegal seeking a third final in four AFCON tournaments and Egypt pushing towards a record breaking eighth overall crown.
Mane who also reaches 34 this year experiences lighter expectations having already earned a Cup of Nations medal.
No one not even in Egypt craves this trophy more than I do Salah confessed following his sides quarter final win over Ivory Coast.
I have claimed nearly every award possible This is the one I await.
The duo featured together under Jurgen Klopp for five seasons from Salahs 2017 arrival from Roma until Manes exit.
They built a strong attacking trio with Roberto Firmino securing the Champions League in 2019 and Premier League in 2020 alongside two losses to Real in Champions League finals.
Yet Mane lately revealed that at times they struggled to mesh on the field.
I view Mo as a genuinely good person first off Though on the pitch sometimes he would give me the ball and other times he would not Mane shared on the Rio Ferdinand Presents podcast.
Only Bobby Firmino was there to distribute the passes Sometimes it went like that he noted laughing.
I recall one match where I was truly furious because he did not pass to me.
Now they stand truly as rivals with two past African footballer of the year winners striving to guide their nations to triumph and for Mane marking a potential repeat success.
The burden on me has lifted Before securing the African Cup I sometimes underperformed due to the stress Mane who netted once at this AFCON shared on the podcast.
Carrying all that weight is tough he continued and Salah understands that fully.