Mohamed Salah & Sadio Mane to face off in final stage of World Cup qualifying

Liverpool duo Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane will square off in the final round of CAF World Cup qualification when Egypt and Senegal meet in a two-legged tie for a spot in Qatar later this year.

It means one of the Reds stars will not reach the global showpiece, with the ties set to be played during the March international window.

The draw was made in Douala, Cameroon, where the Africa Cup of Nations is currently being held.

Salah's Egypt and Mane's Senegal have both made the last 16 of AFCON. Cameroon are among the favourites for the title, with Nigeria, Morocco and the Ivory Coast other big hitters to reach the knockout stages.

Senegal take on Cape Verde on Tuesday, with Egypt facing the Ivory Coast a day later.

Salah led Egypt to the 2018 World Cup in Russia - the first time they had qualified for the competition since 1990, though the 29-year-old famously suffered an injury in that year's Champions League final and wasn't fully fit as his side exited early, losing all three group games.

Mane also played in Russia that year, starting three times and scoring in a 2-2 draw with Japan, though his side were eliminated at the group stage due to their inferior fair play record - the first time the tiebreak had ever been used to separate teams with identical records after three games.


CAF World Cup qualifying playoffs

  • Egypt vs Senegal
  • Mali vs Tunisia
  • DR Congo vs Morocco
  • Cameroon vs Algeria
  • Ghana vs Nigeria

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Source : 90min