Here’s Jonathan Wilson’s report from Yaoundé. Goodnight.
Full-time: Senegal 3-1 Burkina Faso
Senegal are into the Africa Cup of Nations for the third time in their history and their second in two tournaments! Can they win one at last? They’ll certainly be difficult to stop. They’re formidably solid and savvy and have unique ingenuity in Sadio Mané. The question that will be answered after tomorrow’s other semi-final is: will we get a Mané v Salah showdown in the final? Or will Aliou Cissé get a chance to beat Cameroon in Cameroon 2o years after missing a penalty against them in Senegal’s first appearance in the final?
Burkina Faso played with tremendous heart and method. They were a credit to their country but just didn’t have enough to overcome Senegal.
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GOAL! Senegal 3-1 Burkina Faso (Mané 87)
A mix-up in midfield allowed Senegal to launch a counter. They send Mané racing through one-on-one and he’s the coolest man in Cameroon, drawing the keeper and then dinking it over him and into the net!
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86 min: The neutrals in the crowd are no longer neutral: they’re roaring Burkina forward...
85 min: The replay shows the ref was right not to award a penalty, as the ball actually came off the defender’s thigh and then his chin.
84 min: Burkina are piling forward. And they want a penalty for handball after a cross pingpongs around the Senegalese box. No dice, reckons the ref.
GOAL! Senegal 2-1 Burkina Faso (Touré 80)
What’s this? Game on! Kaboré zooms down the left and cross for Ibrahim Blati Touré, who arrives on the run and sends it into the net from 10 yards with his knee, no less! Let’s see what that does for Senegal’s nerves!
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80 min: Burkina Faso substitutions: Ouattara and H Taposba on, Guira and Bande off.
79 min: Burkina are doing their utmost to bring this game back to life but they’re looking weary and Senegal have new bounce.
GOAL! Senegal 2-0 Burkina Faso (I Gueye 76)
Mané chases a lost cause, then wins the ball of a defender on the byline and cut it back to two teammates. Dieng gets to it first but his shot takes a nick of Idrissa Gueye on its way to the net. They can argue over who gets the goal, but there’s little doubt Senegal are headed for the final now!
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74 min: Senegal aiming to settle this now. Ciss curls a wonderful cross to the back post, where Pape Gueye meets it with a powerful downward header from four yards ... but it bounces wide!
72 min: So now Burkina have about 18 minutes to score at least one goal against a team who have only conceded one in the whole tournament so far...
GOAL! Senegal 1-0 Burkina Faso (Diallo 71)
The defender makes the breakthrough! Senegal rejoice! Burkina failed to clear a corner, Koulibaly sent it back into the danger zone with an overhead kick, and it fell ti Diallo, who kept his cool to guide it into the net from six yards. Not a particularly artful goal but a very precious one!
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70 min: Sarr dances past Yago on the right, but the ubiquitous Tapsoba heads away his cross.
68 min: Corner to Burkina Faso after a nifty move down the left. Sangaré’s outswinger is claimed well by Mendy.
66 min: A crucial header at the near post by Diallo prevents Traoré from getting on the end of a vicious cross by Sanogo.
65 min; Senegal substitution: Pape Gueye and Ismaïla Sarr on, Kouyaté and Diedhou off. Dieng will shift into the centre forward position.
63 min: A foul on Gueye gives Senegal another chance to put the ball into the box. They sent their big men up, and they’ve got plenty of them. But Gueye lofts the freekick straight out of play.
62 min: Tapsoba heads away a dangerous freekick from Senegal.
60 min: The game has grown quite disjointed in the last few minutes. No surprise that Malo decided to introduce fresh legs just now. Cissé must be thinking of doing likewise, ideally with a view to adding more creativity to his midfield.
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59 min: Burkina Faso substitution: Sanogo on, Bayala off.
55 min: Dayo punts a long ball forward. Mendy decides not to come for it, allowing Traoré to canter on to it inside the Senegalese box! Fortunately for the keeper, Koulibaly kept pace with the striker and slides it to block his shot.
53 min: Gueye receives the ball mid-way inside the Burkinabe half. He surveys his options but sees that the Stallions have left him with few. So he tries a ping from nearly 30 yards, and it’s blocked before even reaching the box. Senegal running out of ideas?
51 min: Sarr shown a yellow card for showing his studs as he won the ball off Guira.
49 min: A sweeping move down the left by Senegal but the cross by Ciss goes awry. That’s happened too often so far.
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48 min: Ciss does brilliantly to control a long diagonal pass from Kouayté. But then he loses possession and Burkina rip forward on the counter-attack. Diallo closes it down quickly.
46 min: Off we go again. Neither side has mad a change during the interval.
“That referee decision was great, it in fact made me all emotional,” says Andrew Slavin of Bamlak Tessema’s correct overturning of the penalty and booking. “The poor defender - it’s his birthday, he held his hands in - he looked so upset. I love this ref and I hate all refs.” I didn’t know it was Edmond Tapsoba’s birthday, but turns out it is, he’s 23 today. Awwww.
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Half-time: Senegal 0-0 Burkina Faso
No goals but that was a gripping, action-packed first-half and this semi-final remains very much in the balance. Senegal have been slightly disappointing - perhaps a little gripped by nerves given the weight of expectations on their shoulders - but they’ve still carried plenty of menace. Burkina, more vibrant, have threatened too. The second half promises to be a belter. Stay tuned!
No penalty!
Hats off to the ref: he admits he got it wrong the first time and he rescinds the yellow card (which would have ruled Tapsoba out of the final) and orders play to resume with a corner kick to Senegal rather than a penalty.
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The referee jogs over to the sideline to review his decision. He’s a good ref, I’ll be surprised if he doesn’t change his mind here ...
Penalty to Senegal!
Edmond Tapsoba is booked for blocking Gueye’s shot with his arm. But that card - and the penalty decision - may be overturned on review, because Taposoba’s arm was by his side and he had no chance of getting out of the way of Gueye’s shot from the edge of the box.
45+6 min: Mané scampers into the box to receive a return pass from Ciss and blast the ball at goal from the left-hand side of the box. Farid bats it away at the near post.
45+5 min: Mané digs out a cross that causes confusion at the back post. Dieng tries to capitalise. But after retrieving the ball he chooses to shoot from an outrageous angle rather than feed one of the two teammates waiting for a cutback. His effort veers off into the stands.
45+2 min: Sangaré takes a corner short and then gets it back and hoists a loopy cross beyond the back post. In other words, it’s another wasted corner. Burkina have played very well in this half but their setpieces have been a definitive negative.
45 min: There will be at least six extra minutes to this half.
42 min: Mané goes down in the box under a tackle by Kaboré. The ref again makes the right decision, turning down appeals for a penalty.
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41 min: Burkina are on the up. So, alas, is Bandé’s latest shot, which sails over the bar from 20 yards. But Senegal are being disturbed by the Stallion’s vibrancy and organisation.
40 min: Traore’s shot on the run is blocked. Bande pounces on the rebound, immediately going for goal from a tight angle. Mendy pushes it behind for a corner.
38 min: Mané - again surrounded by three players as soon as he gets the ball - coughs up possession in his own half. Traoré again opts for a shot as soon as he gets the ball, but it’s blocked before it enters the area.
36 min: Play resumes with a freekick.
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35 min: Koffi can’t continue, so Burkina have to bring on a new keeper. Substitution: Farid on, Koffi off. Meanwhile, Kouyaté has recovered and can rejoin the action for Senegal.
32 min: From the angle now being shown on the screen, it looks like Kouyaté may have got the first touch - it’s certainly very close - but to me it looked like a legitimate challenge by both players, and no foul. The referee seems to have reached the same conclusion and does not seem to have awarded a penalty - although his hand gesture is not clear.
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31 min: As Kouayté departs the pitch on a stretcher, the referee makes his way over to the sideline to review the incident on the monitor ...
29 min: Koffi comes racing off his line to the edge of his line to try to punch clear the ball clear before Kouyaté can reach it. He leaps above a teammate (Yago) to get there ... and connects with the ball just before colliding with Kouyaté. Both players are down in need of treatment. There were tentative appeals for a penalty from Senegal but the ref seems to have awarded a free out on the grounds that the keeper got the ball first. Let’s see what Var has to say about this.
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28 min: Guira booked - he’ll miss the final if Burkina make it - for pulling back Dieng on half-way after being expertly rolled.
27 min: Fine cut-back from the left byline by Ciss. Dieng beats his marker to it but heads just wide of the near post from 10 yards.
26 min: Sarr delivers an outswinging corner. An attacker jumps to head it near the penalty spot but fails to connect. Diedhou instinctively sticks out a foot to direct it goalward, forcing Kaboré to clear off the line!
24 min: Senegal are having most of the possession but are looking a tad laboured. There’s more zip to Burkina when they get the ball.
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22 min: Strong break down the left by Burkina! Sarr has to rush to his near post to thwack a low ball by Traoré out for a corner. The corner is taken short ... and bungled, allowing Diedhou to clear.
19 min: Mané dodges past one opponent wide on the left. But two more quickly confront him ... and he loses the run of the ball and falls over.
18 min: Mané has a go from way out. He strikes it cleanly but Koffi gets down to save without fuss.
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17 min: Burkina, always looking for an opportunity to counter-attack, tear forward down the left. Sangaré picks out Traoré at the edge of the area, but the Aston Villa player doesn’t catch his shot quite right, leaving Mendy with a comfortable save.
16 min: Dieng makes inroads into the Burkinabe defence and then slips the ball wide to Kouyaté ... whose cross is badly misdirected.
14 min: Ciss takes down a diagonal pass on his chest and then bursts in-field from the left touchline. After zooming between two defenders he unloads a fierce low shot that whizzes just past the far post.
13 min: Koffi, a goalkeeper who is excellent with the ball at his feet, sweeps a long pass forward to Bandé, who takes it down well on the let wing and drives into the area. Koulibaly rushes across to put it out for a corner.
11 min: Brilliant by Mané. He dupes one defender with a slick feint, then rolls the ball through to Diedhou, charging into the let-hand side of the box. A defender pokes it off the striker’s foot and out for a corner. Which Traoré heads clear at the near post.
9 min: Mendy has recovered is back on the pitch.
8 min: Ciss overhits a cross after Senegal make good gains down the left.
7 min: Mané gets a chance to run at his opponents for the first time. Three of them converge on him and bringing him down, giving Senegal a free wide on the left. The setpiece is delivered badly and easily cleared.
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6 min: Mendy has been carried off on a stretcher. It’s not clear whether he will be able to continue. Pape Gueye is warming up ...
4 min: Yikes! A break in play as Nampalys Mendy and Bayala accidentally clash heads - noses, to be precise - when challenging for the ball on half-way. Mendy, in particular, looks in serious pain.
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2 min: The Stallions make their intentions clear from the start: a zippy, attacking approach that betrays no sign of fear of their supposed superiors. Bertrand Traoré fires off the game’s first shot, a wayward effort from 20 yards.
1 min: Senegal v Burkina Faso is go!
Kickoff is imminent. Senegal are wearing their all green kit with yellow drapes across the shoulders. Burkina are in their white number with a red and green line down the middle.
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In Senegal’s fist appearance in an Africa Cup of Nations final - in 2002 - they lost to Cameroon after a penalty shootout in which Aliou Cissé missed. Not telling you who to root for here, but wouldn’t it be splendid if Cissé managed his country to their first African title this year, in Cameroon?
If you’re looking for an omen, the last time that Senegal won an Africa Cup of nations semi-final (against Tunisia in 2019), the referee was Mr Bamlak Tessema, who is also in charge today. Only four of the Senegalese players who started back then are in the starting lineup today (Koulibably, Gueye, Kouyaté and Mané).
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Teams
Senegal make two changes from their last match, with Kouyat´e starting in place of Pape Gueye while Bamba DIeng gets his first start of the tournament in place of Boulaye Dia. Burkina are without their 19-year-old striker Dango Ouattara following his dismissal in the quarter-final.
Senegal: E Mendy; B Sarr, Koulibaly, A Diallo, Ciss; N Mendy, Kouyaté, Gueye; Dieng, Diedhiou, Mané
Burkina Faso: Koffi; Kaboré, Tapsoba, Dayo, Yago; Touré, Sangaré, Guira; Bandé, Traoré, Bayala
Referee: B Tessema (Ethiopia)
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Preamble
Hello and welcome to the first of this year’s Africa Cup of Nations semi-finals. While the continent’s most decorated countries (Egypt and Cameroon) meet in tomorrow’s semis, today is a contest between nations who have never won the tournament before. Senegal have a particular craving for glory. They came mighty close to victory last time – reaching the final before falling to Algeria – and they are favourites to advance to the final again this year against Burkina Faso, whose young team has already surpassed expectations by reaching the semi-final.
Aliou Cissé’s team are well organised and tough and, thanks mainly to Sadio Mané, have magic that Burkina do not. But the Stallions are decent dark horses, canny, combative and, according to manager Kamou Malo, they driven by a desire to continue bringing a sliver of light relief to people back home affected by last month’s coup. “We’re not politicians, we’re just footballers, we care about defending our colours and giving our people a smile,: said Malo in advance of this game. “We don’t have many stars but we’ve got heart, self-sacrifice and commitment.”
Malo add: “Senegal are solid but so we are we. The boys want to show that Sadio Mané is not as exceptional as all that. We’re not going to come with a mask: we’ll play our game.”.
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