Senegal chase fifth straight win in AFCON qualifiers

11/18/2024 04:00 AM

Senegal will chase a fifth straight win to close out their successful 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification campaign when they host Burundi for their last Group L match, set for the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium in Dakar on Tuesday 19 November, kick-off at 21h00 CAT.

Senegal secured qualification last month already, and have since further entrenched their status with a 1-0 away win over Burkina Faso in Bamako last Thursday evening – courtesy of a late goal from Habib Diarra.

The result is a further feather in the cap of interim coach Pape Thiaw, who has overseen three successive wins since taking over from his long-serving predecessor, Aliou Cisse, in October.

In fact, Thiaw is being touted as a strong candidate to be entrusted with the coaching job on a permanent basis, and he now has backing from former Teranga Lions star Mamadou Niang.

"We must not minimise the victories. Malawi, for example, is a difficult team to play, quite tough," explained Niang. "It was his baptism with Senegal, and he had to manage enormous pressure. However, he was able to obtain a positive result."

He added, "Against Burkina Faso, although this team had the best chances, the content of the match was interesting. We were not bored. We saw a Senegal that tried to get around a very solid Burkinabe team. It is a positive result for him, and it shows that he has the necessary qualities to be at the head of this selection."

Burundi, meanwhile, cannot qualify for the next AFCON, as they find themselves six points adrift of the top two (Senegal and Burkina Faso) heading into the final game, though they will be motivated to build on a 0-0 draw with Malawi last Thursday, and look to avenge a 1-0 home loss at the hands of the Teranga Lions when the team last met back in September.