Senegal U20 national team head coach Serigne Saliou Dia has praised his team for their resilience and fight ahead of their quarterfinal match against the Flying Eagles of Nigeria at the ongoing TotalEnergies U20 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt, Footynaija.com reports.
The Teranga Cubs booked their place in the quarterfinal of the ongoing competition after finishing second in Group C behind Ghana to set a date with familiar foes and long time rivals Nigeria at the Ismaila Stadium on Monday, May 12.
Despite their second place finish, Senegal actually struggled in the group stages. The Teranga Cubs played a 1-1 draw with the Central African Republic before a narrow 1-0 defeat to Ghana. They then secured a 2-0 win over DR Congo in their last group game to secure a spot in the knockout stage.
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Dia, speaking ahead of the game with Nigeria, acknowledged his team’s earlier struggles but stressed that overcoming those struggles have only made them stronger, both physically and mentally: “This group was born in adversity,” he said in quotes revealed by CAFonline.com.
“We needed to go through that storm to measure our strength. We questioned ourselves, we regrouped, and we came back stronger.
“I saw the change in their eyes during the warm-up against DR Congo. There was no more doubt — only determination.
“We worked a lot on the mental side. When the legs are tired, it’s the mind that must take over. I told them the DR Congo match was a Round of 16 game — and they won it like one.”
The Teranga Cubs are the current holders of the AFCON U20 title having won the 2023 edition and in their bid to mount a successful title defense, they must overcome seven-time champions Nigeria on Monday.
