The champion enters the track. Senegal are taking their first steps in the 34th Africa Cup of Nations at the Charles Konan Banny in Yamoussoukro. The Lions of Teranga take on their neighbours from The Gambia. Which of Sadio Mané's Senegalese or the Scorpions will best launch their 2024 AFCON?
The match will be commented on by our colleagues at RFI and can be followed live from 15 p.m. Paris time.
Group C is considered by many observers as the "group of death" of this AFCON 2024. And for good reason, in addition to Senegal and Gambia, it includes Cameroon and Guinea. On paper, the two teams nicknamed "Lions" are favourites but the African Cup always has its share of surprises.
Senegal reigns with an iron fist over African football: it also won the CHAN-2023, the African Championship, reserved for local players, and the U-20 AFCON the same year. And at the 2022 World Cup, the Senegalese reached the round of 8, doing better than the Cameroonians, who were eliminated in the first round.
Read alsoAFCON 2024: Senegal, an extroverted model who wins in the national team but not in clubs
The backbone of the African champions remains the same, but the backbone of coach Aliou Cisse has been transplanted to Saudi Arabia. This raises some questions about their current level.
The Gambia, still coached by Belgium's Tom Saintfiet, will be struggling to repeat their feat of two years ago, when they reached the quarter-finals in their first appearance.
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