Senegal coach Malick Daf has revealed how they overcame Nigeria, the seven-time African U20 champion in their opening game of the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations Sunday night in Egypt.
The Teranga Cubs earned a hard fought 1-0 victory over the Flying Eagles in their Group A match at the Cairo International Stadium.
Daf says winning against the seven-time champions is a morale boosting achievement for his team.
“The result will greatly raise our morale and increase our desire to continue achieving more,” Daf told reporters.
“There was a strong desire from both teams to win today. We worked hard and put together the right plan to face Nigeria and win.”
“We thank God for achieving this important victory,” the former national U-17 coach said. “We faced the former African champions, who are a strong team, and they play very good football.”
The West Africans will be hoping to secure their place in the last eight of the tournament in their second match of the group when they face Mozambique.
Senegal will battle the spirited Young Os Mambas who held hosts Egypt to a barren draw in Cairo and are keen on the result to help them to advance to the knock-out phase of the competition.
“We have an important match ahead of Mozambique, and then we will face Egypt. The task is not easy, but we will continue to fight for victory,” Daf added.
