Cisse: Lions of Teranga are gaining momentum

Aliou Cisse coach of Senegal during the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Finals

Monday Jan 31, 2022. 16:00

Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse praised the attacking mentality of his team following the 3-1 win over Equatorial Guinea in the Africa Cup of Nations quarter-finals on Sunday.

The score was deadlocked at 1-1 on the hour mark at the Ahmadou Ahidjo Stadium after Jannick Buyla had cancelled out Famara Diedhiou’s 28th-minute opener for the Lions of Teranga.

However, two goals in the space of 11 minutes from Cheikhou Kouyate (68′) and Ismaila Sarr (79′) sealed victory for Cisse’s side, who face Burkina Faso in the semi-finals on Wednesday, February 2 at the same venue.

Cisse admits the National Thunder were no pushovers, but said the hard work his players put in during the month of January is starting to pay dividends.

“We played a hard-fought game against a good Equatorial Guinean team. We had the mentality to score three goals. We must congratulate the opposing team who were technically capable of creating problems for us,” he said in the post-match press conference.

“We must remember a good victory tonight, synonymous with qualifying for the semi-finals. We have had a very difficult start to our preparations, but we worked well afterwards and today we are gaining momentum.

“We must not get carried away because against Burkina Faso, it will be a big battle.”