Gambiaj.com – (TANGIERS, Morocco) – Villareal Pape Gueye’s brace helped Senegal come from behind to beat Sudan 3-1. Sudan took a shock lead just six minutes in when Aamir Abdallah beat Edouard Mendy with a curling strike into the top corner, but Gueye drew Senegal level in the 29th minute with a composed strike from the edge of the box after being teed up by Sadio Mane.
Ismaila Sarr thought he had won a penalty for Senegal late in the half, but he was offside as he went through on goal, and he then had a goal disallowed after straying offside again.
However, Gueye struck in first-half stoppage time, turning in Nicolas Jackson’s cutback, and Paris St. Germain’s 17-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye came off the bench to make sure of the win with a fine goal in the 77th minute.
Pape Thiaw’s team had already come from behind to draw with the Democratic Republic of Congo during the group stage, and Gueye said the victory showcased their fighting spirit.
“We showed against Congo that we are capable of coming from behind in a game, and that is what we did tonight, so we are very happy,” remarked the midfielder.
“It means a lot. It shows how good the spirit in the camp is. It was a very difficult match. We played against Sudan before, and they made life hard for us.
“But we managed to keep our focus and score when the chances came along.“
Senegal will now stay in Tangiers to face their West African neighbors Mali in the last eight next Friday after the Eagles prevailed 3-2 on penalties against Tunisia following a 1-1 draw at the end of 90 minutes and extra time.
A ten-man Mali staged a fightback to beat Tunisia on penalties in a chaotic first half that saw four yellow cards brandished before Woyo Coulibaly was shown a straight red in the 26th minute for a heavy challenge on Hannibal Mejbri, and in a game of few opportunities, Tunisia eventually struck in the 88th minute when Elias Saad’s looping cross was nodded into the bottom corner by Firas Chaouat.
However, late drama followed when Mali was awarded a penalty after Yassine Meriah handled the ball in the box, and Lassine Sinayoko slotted the spot-kick into the bottom corner in the sixth minute of additional time to draw 1-1 in normal time.
Tunisia had a goal ruled out for offside in extra time, and the contest boiled down to penalties, where Mali goalkeeper Djigui Diarra made two brilliant saves before El Bilal Toure fired home to secure a 3-2 shootout win and send his side into the quarter-finals.
