ACTUALITE |
04.01.2022
AFCON 2021: Believe you will conquer Africa, Diouf tells Senegal
Former Senegal star El Hadji Diouf has told the current national squad they will win the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time if they believe in themselves.
“You possess talent, you are preparing impressively, now believe and you will conquer Africa,” was his message ahead of the January 9 tournament kick-off in Cameroon.
Two-time African Footballer of the Year Diouf missed a shootout penalty when Senegal lost the 2002 final to Cameroon and the Teranga Lions reached the title decider again in 2019 only to fail against Algeria.
Here, we put the spotlight on the four Group B contenders with the winners and runners-up assured of last-16 places while the best four third-placed teams from six groups also qualify.
Senegal have topped the African rankings for three years, but the star-stacked side have no trophies or medals to show off.
There is a belief that it is now or never for a team boasting a ‘spine’ of Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, Napoli centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly, Paris Saint-Germain midfielder Idrissa Gueye and Liverpool forward Sadio Mane.
Captain Koulibaly and Watford forward Ismaila Sarr were chosen by coach and former star Aliou Cisse despite still recovering from injuries and could miss some group matches.
The Lions are in arguably the weakest of the six groups and with a last-16 match against a third-place finisher likely to follow, the first serious challenge they face could be in the quarter-finals.
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Hits: 1 | Source:Autres | |
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