In their final Group L encounter, which is scheduled to take place at the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium in Dakar on Tuesday, November 19, at 21 CAT, Senegal will welcome Burundi in an attempt to wrap off their victorious 2025 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) qualification campaign with a fifth consecutive victory.
Senegal already qualified last month, and last Thursday night they further solidified their position by defeating Burkina Faso 1-0 on the road in Bamako, thanks to a late goal from Habib Diarra.
The outcome is an additional feather in the cap for interim coach Pape Thiaw, who since replacing longtime predecessor Aliou Cisse in October has presided over three straight victories.
In fact, Mamadou Niang, a former Teranga Lions star, is now supporting Thiaw, who is being hailed as a strong prospect to be given the coaching position permanently.
“We must not downplay our successes. For instance, Malawi is a challenging squad to play against, Niang said. “He had to deal with a lot of pressure because it was his baptism with Senegal.” But he managed to get a favorable outcome.
“This team had the best chances against Burkina Faso, but the match had interesting content,” he continued. We weren’t bored. A Senegal team attempted to outplay a highly strong Burkinabe squad. It is a favorable outcome for him and demonstrates that he possesses the skills required to lead this selection.
Burundi, on the other hand, will be motivated to build on a 0-0 draw with Malawi last Thursday and look to avenge a 1-0 home loss at the hands of the Teranga Lions when the team last met back in September, but they will not be able to qualify for the next AFCON as they are currently six points behind the top two (Senegal and Burkina Faso) going into the final game.
