The Teranga Lions roared again at the Nelson-Mandela stadium in Baraki, in favor of the final of the African Nations Championship (CHAN), a competition reserved for players playing in their national championship. Indeed, the Senegal team beat on penalties (5 to 4), that of Algeria after the two teams were neutralized (0-0) on the green rectangle, on February 4, 2023. What makes , once again, Lions, the kings of African sport-king after their victory at CAN 2021 in Cameroon. With this performance, Coach Pape Thiaw’s proteges once again raise Senegalese football to the top. In February 2022, Senegal won, for the first time in its history, the African Cup of Nations (CAN). Better, in one year, Senegal will have achieved a great performance. Moreover, the country will participate in the U-17 and U-20 CAN this year 2023. The country is represented in all categories of sport-king. It is an extraordinary performance that very rarely happens in Africa. That said, this victory is no accident. It is safe to say that the land of Teranga is reaping what it sowed a few years earlier. We will never stop saying it, there is no victory without effort or by chance. It is an understatement to say that this performance would not have been achieved without the basic training. Sadio Mané, Ismaïla Sarr, Pape Matar Sarr, Gana Gueye to name a few, come from Senegalese football academies. And it’s not easy if Africa wants to give itself the chance of one day winning the World Cup. In the meantime, we can congratulate the Fennecs who will not have been undeserved at all insofar as they have produced a very good game.
Algeria is to be congratulated for the organization of CHAN
They who have not conceded a single goal throughout the competition, even if they fell, this time, weapons in hand. This is also the charm of football. This team, in addition to occupying the place of vice-champion, wins the individual prizes for the best player and that of the best scorer. Overall, the match was average, while football lovers expected better with regard to the quality of the two teams. As for the course of the match, it took more than an hour of play to see the first shot on target. Worse, the two teams showed themselves cautiously and with a lot of technical faults. This is to say that the stakes have taken over the game. As for the Lions of Teranga, they have developed a counter game while the Fennecs have long distinguished themselves by a possession game without succeeding in scoring the lesser goal. For the rest, Algeria is to be congratulated for the organization of the CHAN by offering football lovers, one of the most beautiful CHAN, after that of Cameroon. Better, the Algerian supporters who, very often, illustrated themselves negatively by overflows in the event of defeat, fortunately showed themselves to be fair play. This time, instead of the breakage, they opted for applause as a way of congratulating the winner, that is to say the Senegalese. However, we cannot ignore the dark spot of this competition, namely the absence of Morocco, winner of the last two editions of CHAN, because of its difficult relations with Algeria. Too bad that the politico-diplomatic disputes have moved to the green rectangle!
Issa CONTINUED
