AFCON: Senegal coach Pape Thiaw calls for efficiency after Mali win

Senegal national team coach Pape Thiaw has called for his team to me more efficient in front of the goal following their hard-earned victory that propelled them to the semifinals of the Africa Cup of Nations on Friday.

The Lions of Teranga needed a first goal courtesy of Iliman Ndiaye, who capitalised on a defensive error by goalkeeper Djigui Diarra, to beat the Eagles 1-0 and qualify for the last four at Grand Stade de Tanger.

Ndiaye capitalised on a goalkeeping error from Diarra inside the penalty area to find the basck of the net before Mali suffered a huge blow when captain Yves Bissouma was sent off following a second bookable offence.

Senegal will face either Egypt or Ivory Coast

“It was not an easy match because we played against a very talented Mali team but we achieved our objective. The Mali team has good qualities and they created many challenges for us,” said Thiaw as quoted by CAFOnline.com.

“If we had been more clinical in front of goal we could have scored more goals but what is more important today is for us to have qualified for the semi-final.”

Thiaw added: “We will look into our errors and look to correct them for our future matches. We hope that we will be more efficient in front of goal and have more luck in future.”

Ndiaye said: Ndiaye: “I am happy to have won this award but the most important thing is that we have progressed to the semi-finals of the competition.

“We played very well today and it shows that we are improving match after match. I am confident that my colleagues and I will focus on the next match to play at our best level and deliver for our fans.”

Senegal will now face Saturday’s winner between record champions Egypt and holders Ivory Coast.