Senegal manager Malick Daf highlighted scoring the first goal as the key to their emphatic 3-0 victory over Tunisia in the semifinals of the U-20 Africa Cup of Nations on Monday.
Pape Demba Diop gave the Young Teranga Lions the lead in the seventh minute before Lamine Camara went on to bag a brace.
The Senegalese are now in their fourth U-20 AFCON final having reached three consecutive finals in 2015 (as hosts), 2017 and 2019. They however failed to win on each occasion, losing to Nigeria, Zambia and Mali, respectively.
Despite the record, Daf is keen to get the trophy in the bag this time around, when they tackle neighbours the Gambia at the Cairo International Stadium on Saturday.
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— #TotalEnergiesAFCONU20 (@CAF_Online) March 6, 2023
“We thank God for granting us our wish which was to win today and go to the final,” Daf said on the CAF website.
“Tunisia is a tough opponent who are difficult to play against but like we prepared for the match they were concentrated and focused in the match.
“The early goal made it a lot easier for us as it allowed the team to play much better,” he continued. “We scored the second goal from our high press which gave us a 2-0 lead at halftime.
“In the second half, I told my players to keep pressing high and not allow Tunisia to come at us.
“We will prepare for the final on Saturday because our objective is to win the trophy.”
Tunisia will meanwhile contend with Nigeria for the bronze medal after the Flying Eagles lost by a lone goal to the Gambians in the other semi-final.
