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Friday, December 27, 2024
World'I'd swap Champions League medal for Afcon' - Mane

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‘I’d swap Champions League medal for Afcon’ – Mane

Senegal forward Sadio Mane says he would swap his Champions League winning medal with Liverpool for winning the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday.

Senegal seek to win Afcon for the first time when they face Algeria in the final in Cairo, Egypt (20:00 BST).

Mane helped Liverpool beat Tottenham to win the Champions League final on 1 June, and has three goals in five starts at the Africa Cup of Nations.

“For sure, I would be ready even today [to swap],” Mane told BBC Sport.

Read:2019 Africa Cup of Nations: Algeria 100% ready for Senegal in the final- Djamel Belmadi

The former Southampton player, 27, added: “Maybe I don’t need to swap when we win it hopefully.

“We know it won’t be easy but it’s normal, it’s part of football. Algeria is a great team and now I’m just looking forward to playing in the final and to win it.”

Algeria boss Djamel Belmadi said his side would “fight” to try and win the tournament for a second time.

“To the Algerian people, I want to say: I’m not a politician, not a miracle worker or a wizard,” he added.

“But we will fight like we have fought to this point.”

Read:2019 Africa Cup of Nations: Cameroonian referee Alioum Alioum to handle Algeria-Senegal final

Senegal and Algeria met in the group stages, with 1990 champions Algeria winning 1-0.

The biggest team news is that Senegal’s star defender Kalidou Koulibaly will miss the game after picking up his second yellow card of the tournament in the semi-final win over Tunisia.

It is only the fifth Africa Cup of Nations final to have two African head coaches – and the first since 1998.

Senegal boss Aliou Cisse and Algeria’s Belmadi both played for their countries in the early 2000s.

Source: Ghana| Myjoyonline.com

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