Dakar: Sadio Mane became the leading scorer in Senegal history with a hat-trick for his national side against Benin in Africa Cup of Nations Qualifiers here on Saturday.
The 30-year-old has now netted 32 goals for Senegal to eclipse the mark achieved by the former Wigan star Henri Camara.
The Liverpool forward netted all the goals for Aliou Cisse’s team as they beat Benin 3-1 in their opening match of qualifying for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations.
Having fired in a penalty on 12 minutes, Mane struck again soon after by following up his own saved shot to dispatch the rebound and then scored from the spot a second time on the hour mark.
The treble in Diamniadio took Mane up to 32 goals for Senegal, moving him clear of Henri Camara as the country’s most prolific player of all time.
Elsewhere on Saturday, there was disappointment for Trent Alexander-Arnold and Caoimhin Kelleher in the UEFA Nations League.
Alexander-Arnold started for England versus Hungary and featured for just over an hour in Budapest, where a 66th-minute penalty converted by Dominik Szoboszlai secured victory for the hosts over the Three Lions.
There was a defeat for Kelleher, too, with the Reds goalkeeper playing the entirety of the Republic of Ireland’s 1-0 reversal at Armenia.
–IANS