Africa-Press – Senegal. Senegal has chosen to play against Algeria in a friendly match, in order to “advance the game of its national team” and prepare as best as possible for the next World Cup. Africa of Nations 2023 in Ivory Coast, said the coach of the Senegal football team, Aliou Cissé, on Friday.
“Why this match? 2019 was four years ago. Algeria is the bane of Senegal and if I look at the last five matches we played against them, it’s five victories for Algeria,” he said when publishing the list of 25 Lions scheduled to play against the Fennecs on September 12 in Dakar.
“The choice of this match lies in the game, the progression of our team. It will not be a revenge match but, to follow a sporting policy put in place by the national technical director and the Senegalese Football Federation,” explained Cissé.
He noted a reduction in preparation time during international competitions. “We had the opportunity to qualify after four days for CAN 2023 since the match against Mozambique. Until today we are in the preparation phase,” continued Aliou Cissé.
Senegal has since played against Benin (1-1) on the fifth day of the CAN 2023 qualifiers and Brazil (4-2) in a friendly.
The coach of the national football team announced other friendly matches in October against Mali, Burkina Faso and Cameroon.
“It’s a policy, a philosophy in terms of our preparation. The objective is to try to prepare ourselves and approach this competition in the best possible way,” observed Aliou Cissé.
Senegal were beaten twice by Algeria at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations in Egypt. The Lions lost in the group match (1-0), before losing again in the final by the same score.
Senegal subsequently won the 2022 CAN in Cameroon. After this coronation, the Lions took part in the 2022 World Cup where they struggled to win in front of the big teams, notably conceding two bitter defeats against the Netherlands in a group match (0-2) and especially against the England in the round of 16 (0-3).
Since then, the technical staff and the federals have tried to take advantage of the FIFA dates to have a sparring partner who allows the national football team to assume its status as reigning African champion and member of the world top 20 (18th in the latest FIFA ranking).
It is in this wake that the Lions faced and won Brazil last June during a match where they were particularly prolific, scoring four goals including a double from Sadio Mané (4-2). The reception of Algeria at the next FIFA date is part of this same logic.
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