Pape Gueye scored a brace as Senegal came from a goal down to avoid a surprise last 16 exit and beat Sudan 3-1 at the African Cup of Nations.
2025 Africa Cup of Nations
3-1
Match Report
Sudan's hopes of an unlikely victory were boosted when Aamir Abdallah's stunning strike gave them an early lead, but Gueye scored twice ahead of half-time before Ibrahim Mbaye secured the win in the 77th minute.
Abdallah opened the scoring after just six minutes, curling the ball from the edge of the box and into the top left corner as Senegal were caught cold in the early stages at Grand Stade de Tanger.
However, they began to find their rhythm, with Ismaila Sarr testing Bakhit Khamis twice before Gueye restored parity. Sadio Mane set the midfielder off towards goal, and the Villarreal man found the bottom-right corner with ease.
And he was on the scoresheet again in first-half stoppage time, finding the back of the net with a first-time finish from Nicolas Jackson's cutback, which came not long after Senegal saw a penalty decision reversed following a long VAR check.
Sheddy Barglan almost punished a slow start to the second half by Senegal, though he was thwarted by an onrushing Edouard Mendy, and Mbaye then went on to book their spot in the quarter-finals with an emphatic finish at the near post.
FULL-TIME!
— TotalEnergies AFCON 2025 (@CAF_Online) January 3, 2026
A 3-1 win for Senegal in the Round of 16. #TotalEnergiesAFCON2025 | @tecnomobile pic.twitter.com/d7PgGBZAjR
Data Debrief: Mane the unsung hero for Senegal
Despite their slow start, it proved to be a comfortable victory for Senegal in the end. They produced 1.68 expected goals (xG) from 14 shots to Sudan's 0.43 from eight attempts.
Senegal are now unbeaten in their last 15 AFCON matches (W10 D5) since losing the 2019 final to Algeria (1-0). Only Nigeria (16 from 1992 to 2002) and Egypt (24 from 2004 to 2017) have ever enjoyed longer runs without defeat at the finals.
Mane was the quiet catalyst for Senegal's turnaround. Along with his two assists, he created five chances, won six of his 11 duels, regained possession seven times and completed 19 passes in the final third, leading his side in all of these statistics.
Match Events
0' The match is about to start!
6' GOAL! Senegal 0-1 Sudan (Aamir Abdallah)
29' GOAL! Senegal 1-1 Sudan (Pape Gueye)
38' Match Event for Senegal vs Sudan
42' Highlight from Senegal vs Sudan
48' GOAL! Senegal 2-1 Sudan (Pape Gueye)
77' GOAL! Senegal 3-1 Sudan (Ibrahim Mbaye)
Line-ups
Senegal XI: Gueye, Mane, Edouard Mendy, Niakhate, Abdoulaye Seck, Sarr, Pape Gueye, Diatta, Ismail Jakobs, Nicolas Jackson, Habib Diarra
Subs: Mory Diaw, Habib Diallo, Yehvann Diouf, Cherif Ndiaye, Ousseynou Niang, Pathé Ciss, Cheikh Sabaly, Antoine Mendy, Iliman Ndiaye, Boulaye Dia, Pape Sarr, Mamadou Sarr, Lamine Camara, El Hadji Malick Diouf, Mbaye
Sudan XI: Bakhit Khamis, Mohamed Abuaagla, Mo Eisa, Monged Elneel, Mohamed Abdelrahman, Mustafa Karshom, Aamir Abdallah, Mohamed Saeed Ahmed, Walieldin Khidir, Ammar Taifour, Sheddy Barglan
Subs: Ali Abdallah Abu-Eshrein, Salaheldin Adil, Yasir Mozamil, Mohamed Abooja, Abdelrazig Omer, Mazin Mohamedein, Al-Gozoli Nooh, Mohamed Kasri Hakeem, Altayeb Abaker, Awad Zaid, John Mano, Yaser Awad Boshara, Muhamed Tia Asad, Abdelsamad Manan