Senegal under no pressure heading into Burkina Faso tie

Despite the weight of expectation slowly piling on their shoulders, Senegal’s head coach Saliou Dia says the team is under no pressure heading to Sunday evening’s TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) semi-final meeting against Burkina Faso in Annaba.

The Senegalese are unbeaten so far in the competition and have not conceded a single goal, and most have picked them out as possible candidates for the title.

However, coach Dia says these expectations have not weighed down on them.

“I have no pressure going into the game. I was the first coach to give Senegal a continental title when we won the African Games in 2015 and we beat Burkina Faso in the semis, so I am not under any pressure,” says the coach.

He adds; “My only concern is these players and whether they can produce good football. Everyone is appreciating what we are doing here and we want to keep fighting and continue to the final.”

The tactician says it will be a tougher duel against former champions Burkina Faso, who have qualified for the final three times before.

But, he reckons that his side have gathered confidence over the last four matches they have played, and should present a good strategy to get victory.

“It is not an easy match and they are opponents that we must take very seriously. For us, the matches that we have played are behind us and we must not think about them. We are taking a match at a time and now all focus is on this semi-final,” further noted the coach.

He says that the two sides are familiar with each other, having faced them in a mini tournament in Morocco before travelling to Algeria.

“We know each other well and at the end, it will be the team which is more determined, more motivated and wants to write history that will carry the day. They beat us in Morocco and we have an idea of our shortcomings and what to do better,” the tactician stated.

Meanwhile, Senegal is looking at clinching another Continental piece of silverware, continuing the trend of the West Africans over the recent past.

Their U20 team recently clinched the AFCON crown in Egypt and in January, their local team won the Africa Nations Championship (CHAN). This adds on to their 2021 senior AFCON title as well as the BEACH AFCON Crown.

Italian-based midfielder Abdou-Salam Konate, who turns out for Parma’s development team, says that piece of recent achievement will not put them under pressure, but rather act as a motivation.

“These achievements have been a driving force for us in the last four games and it will not be different against Burkina Faso. We remain united and focused, working as a team to achieve our target,” noted Konate.
He also adds that their flawless performances in the other games do not give them overconfidence, as they have already put them behind their backs.

The _Teranga Cubs _are playing the semi-finals at the tournament for the first time ever.