Senegal closed the door on Group D with a statement. A composed 3-0 win over Benin on Tuesday in Tangier pushed the defending champions to the top of AFCON 2025’s toughest pool, even after captain Kalidou Koulibaly was sent off with 19 minutes to play. Goals from Abdoulaye Seck, Habib Diallo, and a late penalty by Pape Cherif Ndiaye told the story: control, calm, and ruthlessness.

Benin, already on the brink of the knockouts, were brave and busy. But the Teranga Lions were stronger in the boxes. With seven points and a +6 goal difference, Senegal finish first ahead of DR Congo, who also won 3-0 against Botswana and took second on goal difference. Benin’s three points were enough to advance as one of the best third-placed teams.

Clinical Senegal seize AFCON 2025 Group D in Tangier

From the first whistle at the Tangier Grand Stadium, Senegal looked ready to manage the moment. They kept the ball, pressed in the right areas, and waited for openings. Benin tried to spring forward in quick bursts, but Senegal’s structure held them in place.

The opener came on 38 minutes and felt like a release of tension. Krépin Diatta bent a wicked set-piece toward the near post, and defender Abdoulaye Seck attacked it with force, powering home a header. There was a long VAR check for a possible handball, but the goal stood. It was a clean, practiced routine — simple in design, deadly in execution.

“Even down to ten, Senegal looked calmer than Benin with eleven.”

How the goals arrived: Seck, Diallo, Ndiaye

Seck’s header was the platform. After the break, the second goal came just after the hour and showed the other face of this Senegal side: class in transition. Sadio Mané, named Flashscore’s Man of the Match, slipped a clever pass into Habib Diallo in the 62nd minute. Diallo took a touch, opened his body, and finished low. It was a striker’s goal made by a superstar’s timing.

Benin kept fighting, and the game swerved when Koulibaly was dismissed in the 71st minute after VAR spotted a dangerous tackle on the Achilles of Tosin Aiyegun. Suddenly, the space widened for the Squirrels. Senegal needed cool heads, and they got them. Édouard Mendy made the right saves at the right times, and the back line narrowed the gaps.

In stoppage time, with Benin pushing numbers forward, a quick break led to a penalty for Senegal when Ibrahim Mbaye was fouled. Pape Cherif Ndiaye stepped up in the 90+7th minute and buried it to seal a 3-0 win. No fuss, no panic — just a job finished.

“Mané didn’t score, but he ran the whole show — that’s leadership.”

Koulibaly’s red card and Mendy’s calm under fire

Red cards change games and tournaments. Koulibaly is Senegal’s captain and voice at the back, so his dismissal on 71 minutes could have turned this into a nervous finish. Instead, Senegal tightened the lines and leaned on their goalkeeper. Mendy’s positioning and hands were strong as Benin pushed for a lifeline. Those saves protected the clean sheet and the group win.

The challenge on Aiyegun was high and caught the Achilles. After a VAR review, the referee upgraded it to a red. It leaves a selection question for the Round of 16, but it also offers a reminder: Senegal are more than one player. The collective held.

“Is Koulibaly’s red a wake-up call before the knockouts?”

What the coaches said

Head coach Pape Thiaw praised his squad’s poise and grit in a tricky match situation. “The players deserve all the praise for their performance in this difficult match that we played with ten men for some parts of the game,” he said. Thiaw also stressed that topping the group was the target and added that the next few days would be used to correct small mistakes before the Round of 16.

Benin coach Gérard Rohr did not have a direct post-match quote in the immediate reports, but his team can take real positives. They stayed in the contest until stoppage time and created chances after the red card. Their reward is a place in the knockouts, where they will meet Egypt on January 5.

Group D standings and the Round of 16 path

Group D produced two big wins on the final day and a razor-thin split at the top. Here’s how it finished:

• Senegal: 7 points (2W, 1D, 0L), +6 goal difference
• DR Congo: 7 points (2W, 1D, 0L), +4 goal difference
• Benin: 3 points (1W, 0D, 2L), -3 goal difference
• Botswana: 0 points (0W, 0D, 3L), -7 goal difference

Next up, the Teranga Lions face the loser of Burkina Faso vs Sudan in the Round of 16. DR Congo get Algeria in a heavyweight tie. Benin’s task is clear and tough: Egypt on January 5.

Elsewhere at AFCON 2025

DR Congo handled Botswana 3-0 to clinch second on goal difference, with a strong attacking display. In other action, Nigeria beat Uganda 3-1 in another group, underlining how fierce the knockout rounds will be.

Mané the metronome, Diatta the supplier

Flashscore named Sadio Mané Man of the Match, and it was easy to see why. He set the tempo and picked moments to quicken play, including the slip pass for Diallo’s finish. He kept the ball moving and drew defenders out of shape. On big days, stars don’t have to score to be decisive.

Credit, too, to Krépin Diatta for the first goal. His delivery for Seck was precise and whipped with pace. Set pieces win tournaments, and Senegal showed they can squeeze value out of dead-ball moments when the game is tight.

Big picture: The champions look ready

Senegal’s 3-0 win over Benin was not just about the numbers. It showed a mature team that can manage state of play: strike from a set piece, punish in transition, then lock down a lead with ten men. The red card was a shock. The response was calm. That’s what champions do.

There are still details to sharpen, which Thiaw himself acknowledged. But topping Group D with a +6 goal difference, getting minutes and goals from the front line, keeping a clean sheet under stress, and seeing Mané influence without overextending — those are strong signals. The Round of 16 will bring a different kind of pressure. Senegal look primed for it.