Dakar, Oct 10 (APS) – The interim coach of the national football team, Pape Bouna Thiaw, assured, Thursday in Dakar, that his players are “aware” of the expectations of the Senegalese people and are “motivated and determined” to win against Malawi, even if the task promises to be difficult.
Pape Thiaw was speaking at a press conference, on the eve of the match against Malawi, counting for the third day of the 2025 African Cup of Nations qualifiers in Morocco (December 21, 2025 – January 18, 2026).
The match is scheduled for 7 p.m. GMT at the Abdoulaye Wade stadium in Diamniadio.
The two teams will face each other again on Tuesday, in Lilongwe, for the fourth day.
“We are 24 hours away from the match. We put a lot of intensity into the preparation. The players are very determined. At the end of the match against Burundi in Lilongwe, during the 2nd day, we discussed the importance of the matches in October, which will be very decisive. And during this gathering, the players proved it. They were very focused and attentive. I hope that on the day of the match, all this energy can be expressed on the field,” he said.
“In Senegal’s last two matches, we conceded goals at home, at the last minute. But the players remain motivated and aware. They know that a match is played until the whistle. We hope for tomorrow [vendredi] to have the opportunity to kill the match by materializing our chances in the first half,” he said.
The Senegalese technician, however, warned that the meeting will not be easy.
“There is no easy match at the African level. Malawi knows that by losing points, its qualification will be compromised. He needs points and we need them more. We are playing in front of our audience and we are ready. We want to win this match to qualify in October,” added Thiaw.
The 43-year-old coach assured that he and his players are aware of the “big expectations” of the Senegalese people for this double confrontation.
“I don’t feel any pressure given the importance of this task. I am positive. It’s a chance to be at the head of the selection, because I know the team. I know what the players are capable of. We worked together. And we want to show that Senegal is there,” he said.
Pape Bouna Thiaw recognized that access to the Abdoulaye-Wade stadium in Diamniadio is difficult, but invites the Senegalese public to come in large numbers on Friday to follow this meeting.
“Our last matches have not been as lively as the one against Egypt in the 2022 World Cup qualifiers, but we want to work on making our stadium a cauldron so that the teams who travel there know that they are in Senegal,” he said.
Pape Thiaw pays tribute to Aliou Cissé
He said he was “honored to have worked with this great man”, in this case Aliou Cissé from whom he took over and whom he considers “a model”.
Cissé “created a solid, united, and above all fighting team, which qualified for all international competitions”. He “made an entire people vibrate, by offering the country this star which shines in the hearts of the Senegalese”, he declared.
Aliou Cissé, 48, had led the national A team since March 2015. He won the 2021 CAN, played in 2022 in Cameroon, after reaching the final of the 2019 edition in Egypt. He participated in the 2018 World Cup in Russia, during which Senegal was eliminated in the first round.
He then qualified the Lions for the next World Cup in Qatar. The Lions were eliminated in the quarter-finals of this edition by England.
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