Photo Credit: TotalEnergies Africa Cup of Nations
Senegal coach Souleymane Diallo has backed his young squad to write their own history when they face Morocco in the semifinals of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN) at Nelson Mandela Stadium in Kampala, Uganda on Tuesday.
The fixture will bring together the winners of the last three editions – Morocco, champions in 2018 and 2020, against defending champions Senegal.
“This is a young generation ready to write their own history. We will face a Moroccan team with very solid performance statistics, but we cannot underestimate the work being done in Senegal. Today, we present the youngest team in this competition,” Diallo said as quoted by CAFOnline.com.
“I would like to send a message to all Senegalese people: we ask you to follow us, support our team, and motivate us to achieve the best possible result in this competition.”
The Lions of Teranga striker, Oumar Ba, who scored the decisive winner against Uganda, promised fight as well as unity. “We know it won’t be easy, but we will do our best out there. We are united, and that is very important. I promise we will fight to make it to the final.”
Senegal will face a North African opposition for only the third time in CHAN history. They lost 2-0 to Tunisia in 2011, before beating Algeria on penalties in the 2022 final after a 0-0 draw. They are yet to score against a North African opponent in open play.
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