PSG is already in the final. Two goals from Abdou Diallo and Idrissa Gana Gueye sent Senegal to their third African Cup of Nations final by shattering Burkina Faso’s dream (3-1) on Wednesday in Yaoundé. It will be Sunday against Cameroon or Egypt, who face each other on Thursday (8:00 p.m.), where Senegal will seek their first continental crown.
“Being in the final does not mean that we are the best, we did not come to play a final but to win one”, warned coach Aliou Cissé, “it will be very difficult against a great African “.
Arrived late in the Senegal team, Abdou Diallo scored the first goal (70th) on a 100% central hinge action, taking advantage of a somewhat involuntary decisive pass from Kalidou Koulibaly… in an acrobatic return! “Gana” drove the point home after a decisive action by Sadio Mané, an action where the Parisian and the Marseillais Bamba Dieng both hit, difficult to certify which one took over the center of their N.10, which bypassed Issoufou Dayo before to center ideally (76th).
Will the 3rd time be the right one?
The Liverpool and Senegal star himself punched the ticket for the final with a delicious ball stung on a counter (87th), when Burkina was playing its all out. Kamou Malo, the coach, had just launched his “Stallions” on the attack, and the excellent Blati Touré had reduced the score… from the knee, after an action initiated by Bertrand Traoré (82nd).
This exciting second half, between the last two “local” coaches in the running, did a lot for the promotion of the CAN, but it is the Senegalese Aliou Cissé who will try his luck again, after losing the 2002 final as a player. (against Cameroon, 0-0, 3 tab to 2) and that of 2019 (against Algeria, 1-0) as a coach.
Joy in Dakar
Many Senegalese supporters invaded the streets of Dakar on Wednesday evening. A loud clamor broke out and invaded Dakar, from the final whistle. A surge of crowds and parades of motorbikes and cars also took place. The people of Dakar, wearing T-shirts and flags in the colors (green, yellow, red) of Senegal, then stormed the main arteries of the city, on foot, on motorcycles, or in cars.
In the Place de l’Indépendance, in the heart of the capital, the supporters shouted “we won, we won”, danced to the rhythm of the horns to celebrate the victory. The same atmosphere reigned in the fan zone installed at the Monument de la Renaissance where several hundred supporters had gathered to watch the match projected on a giant screen.