AB GhaylaneLiverpool star Sadio Mané converted a penalty kick on Tuesday to qualify African champions Senegal for the 2022 World Cup in Qatar at the expense of Egypt.
Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia also booked their tickets to the finals in a frenetic night of playoffs.
Senegal won the second leg of the African play-off 1-0 in Diamniadio thanks to a fourth-minute goal by Boulaye Dia and the teams finished tied 1-1 on aggregate after extra time.
As was the case in last month’s Africa Cup of Nations final, Mane was tasked with taking the crucial fifth kick for Senegal and once again he made no mistake to give his team a 3-1 victory on penalties.
Among the three Egyptians who failed to score in the penalty shootout was Sane’s Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah, who uncharacteristically sent his shot over the crossbar.
However, before going to take his penalty, Salah was greeted by a plethora of lasers in the face from the Senegalese fans.
This drew the ire of the soccer community who felt the situation was incredibly unfair.
Only four of the nine penalty takers were successful, with captain Kalidou Koulibaly and Saliou Ciss missing for Senegal and Salah, “Zizo” and Mostafa Mohamed for Egypt.
As Senegal celebrated their second consecutive World Cup qualification, Egypt had to lament another dramatic loss to Senegal this year.
No goals were scored in the Nations Cup final that went to Yaoundé last month, leading to a penalty shootout that Senegal won 4-2, with Mané converting the fifth penalty for his team.
“It was important to get off to a good start, which we didn’t do in Cairo,”
said Senegal coach Aliou Cisse
“This team is better equipped (than the one that qualified for the 2018 finals). We (should have) been able to qualify in regulation time given the opportunities we missed.”
CELEBRATION IN GHANA AFTER THE CRUCIAL GOAL OF PARTEY
The Diamniadio drama came shortly after Arsenal midfielder Thomas Partey scored the goal that sent Ghana through to the World Cup. The Ghanaians drew 1-1 in Nigeria to win the playoff on away goals.
Partey scored after 10 minutes in Abuja and although another Premier League star, William Troost-Ekong, equalized with a penalty in the 22nd minute, Nigeria failed to score again. The first leg ended in a goalless draw.
Civil servants in the Nigerian capital were given a half day off and free transport was arranged from the suburbs for a crowd of 60,000 to cheer on the Super Eagles.
But the home team was down early on when Partey’s shot from outside the box slipped through the hands of goalkeeper Francis Uzoho and into the net.
Troost-Ekong was the quietest person in the cauldron of noise midway through the first half when he beat Ghanaian goalkeeper Jojo Wollacott from the penalty spot to equalize.
Napoli striker Victor Osimhen had the ball in the net for Nigeria soon after, but was ruled offside after a VAR check.
Nigeria exerted constant pressure in the second half, but could not break down the Ghanaian defense led by Leicester City center back Daniel Amartey.
Ghana went into the second leg as underdogs after a poor showing at the Cup of Nations in January, with a loss to Comoros that condemned them to a humiliating first round exit.
124TH MINUTE GOAL SINKS ALGERIA
Karl Toko Ekambi scored in the fourth minute of extra time at the end of extra time to give Cameroon a dramatic 2-1 win over Algeria in Blida and qualification on away goals.
Eric Maxim Choupo-Moting gave the eight-time qualifiers Cameroon the lead in the 22nd minute. They held the lead until the 118th minute, when Ahmed Touba equalized in the second leg of the playoff.
But with Algeria leading 2-1 after winning the first leg 1-0 last Friday, and looking ready for Qatar, Toko Ekambi struck.
BEST OF THE REST
Azzedine Ounahi scored twice to help Morocco beat the Democratic Republic of Congo 4-1 in Casablanca and qualify for the finals for the sixth time.
Tarik Tissoudali and Paris Saint-Germain fullback Achraf Hakimi also scored for the Atlas Lions, who qualified 5-2 on aggregate after the first leg ended 1-1 in Kinshasa.
The outclassed Congolese Leopards trailed by four goals before Ben Malango scored a consolation goal 13 minutes from time.
Tunisia secured their place in Qatar despite being held to a 0-0 draw at home by Mali in the second leg of a playoff.
Prior to the game, Tunisia coach Jalel Kadri warned his team that the second leg would be even more difficult than the first leg in Bamako last Friday.
After taking a 1-0 lead in Mali thanks to an own goal by Moussa Sissako, Tunisia was unable to build on its cumulative advantage and only made it through the match.
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