Senegal and Mali booked their places in the quarter-finals of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) on Saturday, setting up a highly anticipated last-eight clash between the two West African rivals.

In Tangier, Senegal came from a goal down to defeat Sudan 3-1, with Pape Gueye striking twice and Sadio Mané making history as the tournament’s all-time leading assist provider.

Sudan stunned the former champions with a dream start when Aamir Abdallah finished a swift counter-attack with a sublime curling effort just six minutes in. The early setback, however, did little to unsettle the Teranga Lions, who gradually asserted control with their composure and experience.

Senegal’s response arrived in the 29th minute as Mané won possession in midfield and set up Gueye, who drove a calm, low finish past the Sudanese goalkeeper to restore parity.

The equaliser lifted Senegal’s tempo, and they completed the turnaround deep into first-half stoppage time. Nicolas Jackson cut the ball back from the right, and Gueye curled a delightful effort into the net to give Senegal a 2-1 lead at the break.

Sudan threatened briefly after the restart, coming close through Sheddy Barglan, only for Edouard Mendy to produce a superb reflex save. That moment proved decisive, as Senegal regained control and closed out the contest with authority.

13 minutes from time, substitute Ibrahima Mbaye powered home from inside the box after another incisive assist from Mané, sealing the 3-1 victory. The two assists moved the Senegal captain onto nine in AFCON history, taking him clear of Yaya Touré at the top of the all-time chart.

After the match, Senegal coach Pape Thiaw praised his side’s resilience, saying, “We played against this very disciplined Sudan team, and they showed that they got to the stage by merit. We dug deep to come from a goal down to win the match. I give credit to my players for the way they focused on the game and recovered to win the match. Now we will focus on the next match by correcting some of the mistakes we noted in this game and pursuing our goals with intensity.”

Earlier in Casablanca, Mali reached the quarter-finals after a tense and exhausting encounter with Tunisia that ended 1-1 after extra time, before the Eagles prevailed 3-2 on penalties.

The match was fiercely contested from the outset, with Tunisia forced into an early change when Dylan Bronn was injured, while Mali’s task became significantly harder in the 27th minute when Wayo Coulibaly was sent off for a reckless challenge on Hannibal Mejbri.

Despite playing with a numerical advantage for more than an hour, Tunisia struggled to break down a disciplined Malian side, backed by an outstanding performance from goalkeeper Djigui Diarra. The deadlock was finally broken late on when Firat Chaouat rose highest to head home Elias Saad’s cross in the 88th minute, seemingly sending Tunisia through.

Drama followed deep into stoppage time as a handball by Yassine Meriah gifted Mali a lifeline. Lassine Sinayoko kept his nerve to convert the resulting penalty in the 90+6th minute, forcing extra time and scoring his third goal of the tournament.

Extra time yielded few clear chances, and the contest was ultimately decided from the spot, where Mali showed greater composure. Diarra once again played a crucial role as Mali won the shoot-out 3-2.

With Senegal’s comeback victory over Sudan and Mali’s nerve-shredding triumph against Tunisia, the stage is now set for an intriguing quarter-final showdown between two sides full of belief and momentum as the race for the AFCON crown intensifies.