* The young Teranga Lions are aiming at continuing the success of Senegal on the continent
* Having won the senior Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the 2021 edition in Cameroun
* While home-based national players added the glory by winning the African National Championship (CHAN)
Maravi Express
Having qualified for the semifinals of the 2023 Egypt Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations Senegal, Nigeria, Tunisia and The Gambia have earned themselves a place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup to be hosted in Indonesia.
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Senegal, Nigeria, The Gambia and Tunisia all sealed their places in the last four phase thanks to some impressive performances in the last eight stage of the competition.
The Gambia produced the most elegant performance of the quarterfinals as they marched to a 5-0 victory over South Sudan with Adama Bojang scoring a hat-trick on Friday.
The other game of the day saw Tunisia defeating Congo 5-4 on penalties, after extra-time ended 3-3, to also secure their place in the semi-final.
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On Thursday, Senegal defeated Benin 1-0 to advance while Nigeria also won by a similar scoreline against Uganda to progress to the last four.
The two semi-final matches will be played tomorrow (Monday, March 6) with Senegal taking on Tunisia in the first match at the Suez Canal Authority Stadium in Ismailia at 14h00 GMT.
The other semi-final game will see The Gambia facing Nigeria at the Cairo International Stadium at 17h00 GMT.
Ahead of the semifinal, the young Teranga Lions are aiming at continuing the success of Senegal on the continent — having won the senior Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in the 2021 edition held in Cameroun while home-based national players added the glory by winning the African National Championship (CHAN).
The U-20 Lions of Teranga
Senegal are also AFCON Beach Soccer champions. The CHAN squad beat hosts Algeria through post-match penalties that also earned them 3 additional accolades — Fair Play award, third Man of the Match (by teenage sensation Mamadou Lamine Camara) and Best Goalkeeper Award (Pape Mamadou Sy).
Senegal are hot contenders for the U-20 AFCON having been to the final in each of their last three appearances but are yet to claim the coveted trophy.
The FIFA U-20 World Cup will also be Senegal’s 4th fourth appearance having also qualified in 2015, 2017 and 2019, and while the team’s coach Malick Daf told CAFonline that reaching the semi-finals was the objective of his team, he wants more.
“We achieved the first and main goal of the tournament, which was to qualify for the FIFA U-20 World Cup but we have another goal which is to win the tournament.”
The former U-17 coach was quick to switch focus to the semi-finals which he says is crucial: “The next match is always the most important match. It doesn’t matter who we will face in the semi-finals. Both teams are very strong and they have our full respect and appreciation.”
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