Pharaohs coach Carlos Queiroz has fostered a siege mentality among his squad on and off the pitch, as Salah’s club colleague Sadio Mane continue to inspire Senegal Egypt may have reached the African Nations Cup nine times, winning seven and losing two, but there has never been the kind of global attention on the big game as there will be on Sunday as they take on Senegal. Liverpool teammates Mohamed Salah and Sadio Mane are a major draw, of course. It is fair to say that fans of the English Premier League will be watching events in the Cameroonian capital of Yaounde closely. Salah is Anfield’s Egyptian king, a red legend who has scored more than 100 goals for the club since signing in 2017. So good has he been this season that some are saying that the 29-year-old is the best player in the world on current form. Mane of Senegal has been Salah’s partner in crime in the Liverpool attack for years as they put many a team to the sword. Now they line up against each other. Liverpool boss Jurgen Klopp brought both to Merseyside and will be keeping a close eye on proceedings. “Great achievement for both getting through to the final,” said the German. “So far, a really successful tournament for our boys and it will be exciting. It won’t be easy because one will be really happy afterwards and one less so. It’s a chance to achieve something really big.” Salah was on the losing side in the 2017 final against Cameroon and would love nothing more than to add international silverware to the UEFA Champions League and English Premier League titles won with Liverpool. “This trophy for me would be completely different, would be the closest to my heart,” Salah said. “We were close before to winning this African Cup, we gave it everything but we were not lucky. But it’s ok, now we are here in the new one. We have to fight for it, we have to give everything to win it and I’m sure the players have the same feeling. Of course I want to win something with the national team. It’s my country, it’s what I love the most.” Salah has yet to catch fire in this tournament, though he did score one and create one in the 2-1 win over Morocco in the quarter-finals. He has been watched closely by opposition defenders though that focus has not exactly meant that others have had openings. Egypt have scored just four goals on the road to the final, not a great haul especially when all three of their knockout games have gone to extra-time. The latest was a penalty shootout win over hosts Cameroon in the semi-final on Thursday after 120 minutes of attritional football. It is fair to say that the Pharaohs are not the neutral’s choice to win. Their football has not exactly been sparkling so far. Senegal managed just one in the group stage but have been moving through the gears as they moved through the tournament, scoring eight goals in three games against Cape Verde, Equatorial Guinea and Burkina Faso. Egypt’s route has been harder with the three extra-times and one fewer day to rest after their semi-final. One senses that Egypt coach Carlos Queiroz won’t mind too much. The former Real Madrid manager has been fostering a siege mentality, a feeling that the world – or at least the Confederation of African Football — is against them. Queiroz was red-carded in the semifinal win by referee Bakary Gassama for his antics and complaints on the sidelines. “CAF doesn’t respect Egypt, from the timings to the quality of the pitches - we had the worst pitches! We are Egypt!” Queiroz said after the game. ““How can this referee, after what he has done in the past, be in the African Cup of Nations? Who understands this? Nobody!” This is what Senegal are up against. The Lions of Tauranga have never lifted the trophy, losing the second of their two finals in the last tournament in 2019. But despite the lack of continental silverware, the team is packed full of talent like none other in Africa. There’s Mane, who is finding his form with three goals, Marseille’s Bamba Dieng has got two and Watford’s Ismaila Sarr and Cheikhou Kouyate are starting to impress. Then there is Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly and Paris Saint-Germain pair Idrissa Gueye and Abdou Diallo. In terms of European experience, there is no comparison between the two teams, while in the Fifa world rankings, too, Senegal are 20th, compared to Egypt’s 45th position. It is not a surprise that the smart money is heading in the direction of West Africa. Yet this Egypt team under Queiroz are revelling in their underdog status. It actively wants to have the world against them and doesn’t respect reputations. It is not necessarily Salah who is their talisman and it is not necessarily the big-name European stars of Senegal who will make a difference. This tournament has shown that already. The story of this African Cup of Nations may just belong to a goalkeeper known as Gabaski, a 33 year-old Egyptian who had barely played for his country before coming on as a substitute in the second round. The Zamalek man has become a hero, and in tournaments like this what matters is not your reputation before the start — it’s about your reputation at the end. This game may not just be about Salah and Mane.