By beating Liberia 3-0 this Saturday, December 28 at the Abdoulaye Wade stadium, in the return match of the 2nd qualifying round for CHAN 2024, Senegal validated its ticket for the competition (1-1 draw in the first leg).
A great way to show future opponents that they will have to count on the reigning champions.
Senegal will participate in its 4th African Nations Championship (CHAN). The 2024 edition, which will take place in 2025, will be held from February 1 to 28 in Kenya, Uganda and Tanzania. With this 3-0 victory against Liberia with goals from Oumar Ba (4th), Baye Assane Cissé (44th) and Seydina Madione Mbaye (90th), the Senegalese will be able to defend their title won during the 2022 edition, contested in 2023 in Algeria. Furthermore, Senegal will play in the tournament reserved for local players for the 2nd time in a row. This hasn’t happened since 2011.
A second participation in a row, the record
By winning CHAN 2022 in Algeria, Senegal hit very hard. First, Lamine Camara and his teammates won the first title in the country’s history. Then, it was an event in that the local lions had not participated in the competition since 2011. In this tournament played in Sudan, Senegal did not exist since it was eliminated in the first round.
Two years earlier, in Ivory Coast, Senegal played its first CHAN. It was in Ivory Coast. Led by coach Joseph Koto and players Vito Badiane (AS Douanes) Alpha Oumar Sow (Casa Sports), the Lions reached the semi-finals, settling for 4th place.
Rebirth after crossing the desert
It is therefore a small revolution that Senegalese football is experiencing with this second qualification in a row at CHAN. After attending the first two editions in 2009 and 2011, Senegal missed the next 4 (2014, 2016, 2018 and 2020). So it’s a return to the forefront. In addition, the Senegalese will have a new status: that of reigning champion. It remains to be seen how Pape Thiaw’s successor at the head of the lions, Souleymane Diallo, will manage this situation. However, the coach, who managed his first two matches during the double confrontation against Liberia, arrives with the ambition to make his players shine.
“This is to say that we must get these players used to existing well in Africa. There are only two survivors compared to the group that won the last CHAN. We will continue the preparation. Since March 2015, I have been in the selections. I gained some experience. I have a little African experience. This double confrontation allowed me to materialize things that I saw succeed. A coach must have convictions. This is what will allow you to succeed in your mission,” he confided after the qualification.
Oumar Boubacar NDONGO
Senegal
