Midfielder sensation Lamine Camara scored twice as Senegal recorded a commanding 3-0 victory against Tunisia to advance to the final of the 17th edition of the U20 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON).
First-half goals from Camera and Pape Demba was all the West Africans needed to record their fifth victory of the competition and book a final appointment against neighbors The Gambia.
Senegal is hoping to be third time lucky in the 2023 AFCON final advance to the final without conceding in five games so far.
The Teranga Lions got off to a great start as they exposed and outsmarted the Carthage Eagles defense to score the opener through Pape Demba just seven minutes upon kick off.
The early goal from the Zulte Waregem forward was a reward for the high pressing strategy Malik Daf had adopted for his team.
That goal didn’t silent the Hundred if Tunisian fans at the Suez Canal Authority stadium in Ismaila. Coach Abdel Sellimi’s Tunisia responded to the push of their fans by cheering even more though they were already in a deficit.
Landing Badji made the first save of the night after Olympique Beja midfielder volleyed from outside the box.
Just minutes later, Lamine pounced on poorly cooked backpass to double Senegal’s advantage.
Captain Samba Diallo nearly compounded the early woes of the North Africans but a brilliant save from Raed Gazzeh kept the score at 2-0.
The chaotic start forced Sellimi to make two substitutions before the break; Ghaith Wahabi and Zinedine Sassi were replaced Yassine Dridi and Adam Garreb respectively.
There was an almost instant response from the Tunisians as Mahmoud Ghorbel met a fine cross from Mohamed Derbali but his effort went wide.
Senegal took the two goals cushion to the break but there was more to come.
Tunisia conceded another early goal upon resumption in the second segment through Lamine who put the game to bed and killed hopes of a comeback.
Lamine started and finished the move after he won possession deep into the Tunisia half of the pitch to find Sulaymane Faye who connected with Samba.
The captain had his effort blocked twice but one of the rebounds fell to the 19-year-old new FC Metz man to complete his double.
Though there were changes in personnel from both sides in the rest of the half, there wasn’t any change in the score.
At the blast of the final whistle, the huge Senegalese fans in the stands joined their team to celebrate reaching another final, a month after they won the African Nations Championship (CHAN).
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