Senegal’s fairytale run in CAF competitions continues as its Under-17 reach semis in Algeria 2023 AFCON finals

* Comes just after the Under-20 lifted the Egypt 2023 AFCON in March

* First were the senior Lions of Teranga when they lifted their first-ever AFCON title in Cameroun

* In which they won all matches except against Malawi in the group stages that ended 0-0

* Senegal also won the African National Championship (CHAN) which is for domestic league players

* And also added more glory by winning the AFCON Beach Soccer champions

By Duncan Mlanjira

Senegal Under-17 are on the verge of winning the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) when they whipped South Africa 5-0 on Wednesday in the quarterfinals being hosted by Algeria — a feat that also booked Africa’s first ticket to the FIFA World Cup.

This comes just under three months after Senegal Under-20 beat their neighbours Gambia 2-0 in March to win their first-ever U-20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) that completed the Lions of Teranga’s fairytale run in Confederation of African Football (CAF) competitions in a year.

First were the senior Lions of Teranga when they lifted their first-ever AFCON title in Cameroun in which they won all matches except against Malawi in the group stages that ended 0-0.

Senegal also won the African National Championship (CHAN) which is for domestic league players and also added more glory by winning the 2022 AFCON U-17 in Algeria that also earned them 3 additional accolades — Fair Play award, third Man of the Match (by teenage sensation Lamine Camara) and Best Goalkeeper Award (Pape Mamadou Sy).

Senegal are also AFCON Beach Soccer champions and having qualified for the U-20 semifinals, the young Lions of Teranga also earned themselves a place at the FIFA U-20 World Cup alongside The Gambia, Nigeria and Tunisia to be hosted in Indonesia.

A report on CAFonline said a pair of first half own goals by each of South Africa’s central defenders followed up by Mamadou Sadio’s goal and skipper Amara Diouf’s brace saw the Teranga Cubs continue with their impressive performance in the competition.

This is the first time ever that Senegal have progressed beyond the group stages of the U-17 AFCON. They have also qualified for the World Cup for the second time in their history, having done so in 2019.

In a post-match interview, the team’s coach Saliou Dia with the World Cup ticket sealed, they can now shift their attention to their first-ever U-17 title.

“We are delighted to remain in the tournament and now we will work for the next target which is the title. We will prepare ourselves well for the semi-finals and we know it is going to be tougher because teams now know that we are a tough side. We need to continue remaining patient,” the former Senegalese international told the media.

Senegal will travel back to Constantine for their semi-final date against quarterfinal winners between Nigeria and Burkina Faso.

Meanwhile, Morocco’s Zakaria Ouazane scored a goal in either half with Adam Chakir adding a late third as the Atlas Cubs beat hosts Algeria 3-0 in the quarterfinals — that also earned them a place at the FIFA World Cup.