Senegal, Cameroon up for a big clash

The Charles Konan Banny stadium in Yamoussoukro will host one of the biggest games on the continent between Senegal and Cameroon on Friday, 19 January 17h00 in the second round of Group C matches of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.

The Charles Konan Banny stadium in Yamoussoukro will host one of the biggest games on the continent between Senegal and Cameroon on Friday, 19 January 17h00 in the second round of Group C matches of the TotalEnergies CAF Africa Cup of Nations Côte d’Ivoire 2023.

Matches between the Teranga Lions and Indomitable Lions have been characterized throughout history by excitement and enthusiasm.

This will also be the case for the match which will bring them together in the 34th edition of the competition on Ivorian soil.

Senegal, defending champion, seek to confirm its strong entry into the competition, after winning the first match 3-0 against Gambia.

The objective is to win a second match which will allow them to qualify early for the second round. The Senegalese coach, Aliou Cissé, is counting on the high morale of his squad to continue on the same path of positive results during the confrontation with Cameroon, and he will also be able to benefit from some of his returning players, like Pape Matar Sarr or Gana Gueye.

Cameroon, who finished fourth during the last edition of the competition, intend to win its first game in the tournament, and make amends to their slow start which they drew with Guinea.

Aliou Cisse Senegal Coach

“It was important to enter the competition with a victory, which encourages the players. We are ready for the second match against a strong team, and we have prepared well for it. We know Cameroon well and it is a strong African team.

“Cameroon remains Cameroon. Our match against them is not revenge. Cameroon have already won many continental titles and we are going to face a team motivated to make up for the result they got in the first match.

“We have a competitive group and all players can participate, it doesn’t matter who starts the match, the most important thing is the performance provided. Our team does not suffer from a lack of efficiency and we scored 3 goals in the first match.

Idrissa Gana Gueye, Senegal midfielder

“We prepared well for this competition, we are in good shape. We have been with the coach for a while. He led us to the title in Cameroon. To try to do the same thing again, you have to keep the same state of mind, which is to live well in the group.

Everyone is going in the same direction, that is to say the Senegalese team which wins, which listens to the coach’s instructions, which lives together, which trains well and above all which is in shape to go as far as possible.

We need 3 points in the match, we are not going to go into details, we must not go into calculations. We are going to seek victory, I trust the players that the match against Senegal will be different.

Georges Kevin Nkoudou, Cameroonian striker

“It’s true that Senegal is the favourite, but as I always say we must never bury Cameroon, we remain a great team and a great nation.

“They started this tournament with a very good victory against Gambia. For our part, we had a good match but unfortunately we only got one point. We have to put this behind us for now, and focus on our match against Senegal which will be very difficult for both teams. I think we have all the weapons necessary to be able to put them in a more difficult position”.