Niger's Badamassi reveals his goal against Cameroon was premeditated
Niger midfielder Ousseini Soumaila Badamassi has disclosed that he knew he would score against Cameroon at the 2022 TotalEnergies African Nations Championship (CHAN).
The AS Douanes midfielder came off the bench to score the lone goal for the Mena against the Intermediate Lions of Cameroon at the Miloud Hadefi stadium in Oran last Tuesday.
Coach Harouna Doula had mostly used Badamassi as his key substitute in his first three games at the seventh edition of the tournament for local based players.
The 25-year-old made an instant impact when he was brought on in their last Group E game against Cameroon. He struck a stunning free-kick that slightly deflected off Thomas Etta Bawak, to leave goalkeeper Marcelin Mbahbi completely beaten.
Badamassi has told cafonline.com that he took individual sessions on free-kicks and was confident that he could make the difference if given the opportunity.
"I trained individually on free-kicks and that is what made me to score," said Badamassi.
"When I was on the bench, I had it in my head that when I was brought on, I would make an impact and I did. My team-mates congratulated me."
The former AS SONIDEP midfielder is in his second CHAN tournament, after featuring during the 2020 edition in Cameroon. Prior to the competition, he had scored in a 1-1 draw in a pre-CHAN friendly in Yaounde.
Badamassi also targeted a win against the Black Galaxies of Ghana to earn the semi-final berth, a feat which they achieved on Saturday.
Ahead of Friday's third place playoff against Madagascar, the midfielder re-visits his path to reaching the continental scene.
"I started when I was young at Atcha Academy. I feel very happy because I had faith in myself and in our abilities that we were going to win."
It is the first time Niger is reaching the semi-final of the TotalEnergies African Nations Championship. Badamassi is hopeful that he can play a big role in helping his country continue their scintillating run in the competition.