Luck Has Been On My Side, Says Mane After Edging Salah To World Cup Spot
Sadio Mane says luck has been on his side after helping Senegal edge Egypt and Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah to FIFA World Cup qualification.
For the second time in just over one month, Senegal got the better of Egypt on penalties; this time for a spot in Qatar 2022.
Egypt defeated Senegal 1-0 in Cairo last week and the Teranga Lions matched that result in Dakar on Tuesday, meaning penalties were needed to separate the two sides.
Just like in the Africa Cup of Nations final in Cameroon, Mane struck the decisive kick to take Senegal through as Salah missed from the spot.
Mane was happy to help his country progress but admits qualification could have gone either way.
"I won twice and he lost twice. I was luckier to come out on top," Mane told OnTime Sports.
"I am very proud that we won the Africa Cup of Nations and now qualified for the World Cup, it's a dream I had.
"It was a difficult game for both teams. Our fans pushed us to win and we didn't stop fighting. We knew the game wouldn't be easy but we pressed to score."
Senegal are joined by Ghana, Tunisia, Morocco and Cameroon as Africa's five representatives at this year's World Cup.
This will be Senegal's third appearance at the Mundiale, with their best performance being a quarter-final berth during their debut in 2002.
