Senegal's dream of a first continental title is over for another two years despite a dominant performance over Cameroon in their African Nations Cup quarterfinal in Franceville on Saturday.

Senegal had all the ball possession and created numerous chances, but lost 5-4 in a penalty shoot-out after a 0-0 draw.

In a bitter twist, their talisman Sadio Mane, so influential in this competition, missed the vital spot-kick, leaving him so distraught that he had to be helped off the pitch by teammates.

Senegal are ranked the top team in Africa and for good reason: they have quality all over the pitch and showed that in this tournament.

But the writing was on the wall for them against Cameroon as they missed chance after chance and it looked as though the momentum was swinging the way of the Indomitable Lions.

So it proved as they struck five excellent spot-kicks and a tentative Mane had his effort saved by Cameroon goalkeeper Fabrice Ondoa.

"Senegal is sad again but life goes on," said their coach Aliou Cisse, who captained the side when Cameroon beat them on penalties in the 2002 final and squandered the vital kick 15 years ago.

"It's not easy in the dressing room. We regret we weren't able to live up to our potential.

"The Cameroonian defence was compact from the start till the end. We created several opportunities but they resisted all our attacks.

"We were not collective up front and missed a lot of chances. What we missed today was the fact that some players failed to realise that they cannot do it alone.

"For 11 years, Senegal failed to reach this stage. We have worked for two years to reach here. However, there is still a lot of work to be done."

Cameroon coach Hugo Broos was understandably elated as his squad, without eight of their top stars - who withdrew from the competition before the start, battled hard for the win.

"We have watched the matches of Senegal, they are a powerful team, which is very fast and is {good} on the flanks," Broos said. "This is why we decided to play a slow game, even if during the meeting, we often played too slowly and it nearly cost us dear.

"We have eliminated a great team of Senegal on penalties but you know at this level, it is a lottery."

Cameroon will await the winner of Sunday's quarterfinal between Democratic Republic of Congo or Ghana, with its semifinal to be played in Franceville on Thursday.