PAPE Gueye scored twice today as Senegal fought back from behind to beat Sudan 3-1 at the Morocco 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), ending their opponents’ stirring run played out against the backdrop of the country’s ongoing civil war.
Aamir Abdallah’s stunning opener, curled across the diving Edouard Mendy in the sixth minutes, briefly allowed Sudanese fans to dream of a huge upset in Tangier.
Former Chelsea goalkeeper Mendy was then forced into an excellent stop low to his right from Mohamed Eisa’s angled shot midway through the first half before Senegal, driven on by the incessant drumming of their fans, slowly began to gain momentum.
Nicolas Jackson should have scored just before the half hour, seeing his close-range effort well blocked by goalkeeper Monged Elneel, but just seconds later Gueye stroked home his first from 18 yards out.
The Villarreal midfielder, who was constantly finding space on the edge of Sudan’s penalty area, grabbed his second in first-half injury time, again side-footing calmly past Elneel from distance.
Mendy made another fine save to deny impressive right-back Sheddy Barglan at the start of the second half, but from that point on it always felt as if the Teranga Lions were able to hold their determined opponents at arm’s length.
Paris St-Germain teenager Ibrahim Mbaye raced away in the 77th minute to add the gloss to a scoreline which will see Senegal remain in Tangier for a quarter-final tie next Friday against either Mali or Tunisia.
With agency report