Senegal head coach Malick Daf has revealed his players’ motivation ahead of their crucial encounter against Gambia on Saturday.
The Young Ternaga Lions are up against a familiar foe when they take on the Young Scorpions in the final of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations at the Cairo International Stadium at 6pm WAT.
Daf, a former Senegal U-17 coach, said his young team is driven by winning as the West African nation looks to complete a sweep of continental trophies following the senior team’s win at the AFCON and their recent triumph at the African Nations Championship (CHAN) last year.
“We will play our final against The Gambia, a friendly country, the same country,” Daf said at the pre-match press conference. “We are expecting a great game. Our goal is to win this game. Despite the greatness and talent of the Gambian team. We will try to beat them.
“We have already practiced on the pitch, we know each other well. We prepared to come and play and win.
“We always want to win, we are prepared to come and win. We have no pressure. We want to continue on this momentum, our motivation is to win,” he added.
The two teams have been in impeccable form all tournament, as neither has lost a game or conceded a goal.
Senegal came out on top of Group A before defeating Benin and Tunisia in the quarterfinals and semifinals, respectively, scoring 12 goals across all five matches.
The Gambia, on the other hand, are two goals shy of their opponent with 10 themselves. They topped Group C with a perfect record before thrashing South Sudan 5-0 in the quarterfinals and upsetting the title favorites, the Flying Eagles of Nigeria, in the semi-final.
Daf further highlighted the need for his team to keep their emotions in check and balance their playing style while looking to attack and defend against a well-coordinated Gambian side.
“We will manage the emotions, the players are aware and concentrated. Football has phases, transitions and defensive balance,” the 54-year-old coach said.
“Since the start of the tournament we manage to do it with intelligence and modesty. Our way of playing is to be on the lookout for opportunities,” Daf added.
Senegal and the Young Scorpions are however not strangers to each other, as they both competed in the zonal qualifying tournament in Mauritania last year. Though the Daf-led team pipped the Gambians in the final of the WAFU-A qualifying tournament thanks to a lone goal from talisman Samba Diallo, the final of the U-20 AFCON will probably be tougher than that.
YOU CAN CATCH THE U-20 AFCON FINAL LIVE ON AFROSPORT TV
