AFCON Unpredictability Comes Home as Quarterfinals Loom
6 January 2026
AFCON Unpredictability Comes Home as Quarterfinals Loom
Senegal captain Sadio Mané says the best team doesn\'t always win the Africa Cup of Nations, which is currently being held in Morocco.
The tournament is nearing the knockout stage, with six teams already booked in the quarterfinals, awaiting the last two to complete the field.
Senegal will face Mali in the quarterfinals, while Morocco meet Cameroon; Egypt takes on the Burkina Faso–Ivory Coast winner, and Nigeria awaits the Congo DR–Algeria winner.
Mané, the Senegal star who plays for Al Nassr in Saudi Arabia, said in a press conference: "The best team isn\'t always the AFCON winner; mental strength matters, especially in a tournament full of challenges like this".
He added: "We will try to stay humble and focused; the key is to take each match as it comes".
Punchline 1: In AFCON, the trophy doesn\'t collect itself; sometimes it takes a collective brain delay to find it.
Punchline 2: And if you think the best team always wins, tell that to the ball—it keeps bouncing upsets to life.
