Senegal coach Aliou cisse has officially started his Can this Saturday by the pre-match press conference. Accompanied by team captain Cheikhou Kouyaté.the two representatives of the national squad answered the questions of the press before the match against Tanzania this Sunday, June 23.
The main questions were about Senegal beeing the favorite team, Sadio Mane who is going to be out for the first match among other things. But the coach’s speech did not change. According to Aliou Cissé, the FIFA ranking that puts Senegal at the top of African countries does not make them the favorite of the AFCON. He reaffirms that Senegal is a challenger who has a lot of ambitions in front of favorites such as Egypt, host country, Morocco, Cameroon, and even Algeria that some underestimate. Speaking about the absence of Sadio Mané for the first game, Captain Cheikhou Kouyaté admits that it will certainly be a blow to the team but the 11 players who will be on the pitch will all consider themselves as Sadio Mane and will play for him. Kouyate gives maximum respect to all the teams « we respect Tanzania and we will battle hard during the match» he said, adding that they will do the same with all the matches they will play during the competition.