If it feels like a heavyweight fight, that's largely because it is from our perspective.
The moment that the second semi-final of the Africa Cup of Nations ended on Thursday night the final wasn't Senegal vs Egypt, it was Sadio Mane vs Mohamed Salah. For us, anyway.
For scores of football-mad people across Africa it is very different of course, with the Senegalese public desperate for what would be an historic first AFCON victory, two-and-a-half years after final heartbreak against Algeria.
Egypt have lifted the trophy a record seven times, but none since the third of three successive victories in 2010.
So for Mane and Salah there are two distinct and tangible storylines. Either the Senegalese leads his nation to something the country have always dreamed of, or the Egyptian King returns to the Pharaohs to their throne.
Both players - both part of Jurgen Klopp's Liverpool machine which functions so well when properly oiled - will be the first to tell you that any success will be down to the team of course, and that collective will is more important than a singular individual. And they'd be right.
But anyone who saw Lionel Messi's joy at finally lifting the Copa America last year will be able to tell you that it is a little bit more than that. Ditto Cristiano Ronaldo at Euro 2016.
The World Cup might still evade those two titans of modern football, and modern life, but the achievement of continental success is something that sits at the very top of their glittering CVs.
Barring a miracle neither Mane or Salah are ever going to win the World Cup either - and only one will qualify for it this year thanks to Africa's tantalising playoff draws, with Senegal vs Egypt taking place over two legs next month for a place in Qatar.
Both players will turn 30 shortly after those matches. There won't be many more chances like this.
Given his levels of performance across the last 10 months or so, Salah is likely to be seeing the Yaounde final as the perfect chance to lay down a marker in his quest to be considered the best player in the world, with his seventh place finish in the 2021 Ballon d'Or largely down to a lack of meaningful international action.
A win here, perhaps coupled with say a Champions League success for Liverpool, and that could well be it. He might not even need to be at the World Cup.
This Africa Cup of Nations might have started with many harshly looking to denigrate it as it returned to its mid-season slot, but providing the platform for the best player in the world to come to the fore and take his crown would be a pretty spectacular way to finish, and there is no doubt that Salah will be visualising just that.
He'll know that Mane will be biggest threat to achieving it though, with the Senegalese having several motivating factors of his own.
Even as Liverpool's 2019-20 title-winning season was unfolding it could often be said that Mane's exceptional performances were being overshadowed by the Salah spotlight, but it mustn't be forgotten that halfway through the campaign it he was he and not the Egyptian who claimed the African Footballer of the Year award.
He'd have taken great pride in that, as while the often-discussed idea of a cool relationship between the pair is somewhat overblown, there is certainly a competitive edge between them. Each knows that the other is usually the best chance for a goal or a movement that will lead to one, and so they enjoy each other's company on the pitch immensely, even if off it they are often vying for attentions.
Mane can't have helped but notice that Salah has kicked on several levels of late though, and at a time when he has sometimes struggled.
Few Liverpool players suffered as much as Mane did in last season's crowdless, often defenderless campaign, and there have been times in the current season when he has been below par by his own high standards.
As contract negotiations hover over both players, Mane will have seen Liverpool bring in the left-sided Luis Diaz while he's been away in Cameroon, a development he is sure to have taken great notice of.
Like Salah, Mane's contract at Liverpool expires in 2023, but much less is said about the former Southampton man's deal as the attention falls on the star signed from Roma.
It might be that Mane and his agent are more than happy with that, content in a position where they could look to command say 90 per cent of whatever lucrative deal is eventually agreed with the deserving Salah. There is then the very real notion of those sums not adding up for the Reds, and Mane walking away in 18 months time.
If he can do so with an AFCON winners' medal then that might just bump up whatever contract he's receiving, or force Liverpool to increase their offer.
The debate over Africa's best could also be reignited too, with Salah again deferring to his clubmate.
So much is on the line then, with two proud African nations going head-to-head.
Two of the continent's best ever players will think that this is their chance, but only one can be right.
