When this tournament started on February 19 at the Cairo International Stadium, in Egypt, no one considered them a favourite or gave them a chance of making it through the group stage where they face Benin, Tunisia, and Zambia.
But with a perfect run in the preliminary stage, a strong defensive line, and sharp attacks which saw them bang nine goals and conceded none after four matches before stunning the Flying Eagles of Nigeria in the semi-final and still conceded not a goal, The young Scorpions of Gambian have written their names in the book of African football history.
And of course, the giants of African football, this is with no regard to the latest FIFA rankings but facts, Senegal remain top of men's African football.
They are the holders of the prestigious AFCON title at the senior level, WAFU A championship winners, CAF and COSAFA Beach soccer AFCON champions, and 2nd runners up COSAFA Men U-20 Championship.
It is the Egypt 2023 U-20 African Cup of Nations final, and certainly, we are going to have new champions as previous winners have all been eliminated from this year’s edition.
The Cubs of Teranga, who were three times runners-up will go against the baby scorpions of Gambia who have also reached the semi-finals of the U-20 AFCON on two previous occasions but never made it to the final until last Monday when they secured their five straight victories at the ongoing tournament, thanks to Adama Bojang solo goal against the lackadaisical Eagles of Nigeria.
This final between two neighbours will be a repeat of the WAFU-A qualifying tournament in Mauritania which Senegal won courtesy of Samba Diallo's diving header.
How Both Teams Have Faired At The 2023 AFCON
It’s been an amazing tournament for both Senegal and Gambia, both teams have won all five matches from the group stage to the semi-finals, and neither of these two teams have conceded a single goal and have scored ten goals or more.
Whilst the young lions of Teranga have scored twelve goals, the young scorpions have scored a total of ten goals.
Both Gambia and Senegal have shown composure and solidity at the backlines and have proven to be even more clinical in front of the goal.
This is a match we can’t wait to see, given the scoring prowess of both teams, we are likely to be thrilled with so many goals but on the other hand, if one considers, the two teams’ ability in the defense which have seen them kept five clean sheets from five games, then we may be seeing a match that would end in a goalless draw and be decided by penalties.
Surely, this is a tricky final match for both Abdoulie Bojang and Malick Daf, the Gambian and Senegal U-20 coaches.
The young lions of Senegal have what it takes to run at their opponents, can shoot on target from any range, and are good at set pieces, the Gambians are known to build play slowly and take advantage of counterattacks.
Head To Head
Saturday’s final will be the 3rd meeting between Senegal and Gambia in recent times, with Senegal having the upper hand with a victory and a draw.
Last September, the cubs of Teranga overcame Gambia’s young Scorpions in a friendly match by a goal to nothing, in November 2020, The Gambians thumped Senegal on penalties to clinch WAFU A title.
The two teams have won five of five games at the ongoing tournament in Egypt with Senegal scoring twelve goals so far and the Gambians ten in five matches.
Neither team has lost, drawn a match nor conceded a goal.
This is an exciting contest, and Gambia who lost the 2022 WAFU A title to Senegal will be looking to redeem and avenge their regional loss at the continental level.
The question is, who will triumph after 90 or 120 minutes.
What the coaches are saying:
Speaking shortly after their victory, Malik Daf, the Senegalese coach, reiterated that his team’s objective is to lift the AFCON U-20 trophy.
He said, “We will prepare for the final on Saturday because our objective is to win the trophy."
On his part Abdoullie Bojang is determined to prevent Senegal from claiming the AFCON U-20 Gold medals, he said they are ready to fight.
In Bojang’s words, "We will fight for the title against Senegal.
"Senegal is winning everything right now. We must prevent them on Saturday."
Senegal are the AFCON Champions at the senior or national team level
Claim their fourth consecutive Beach Soccer AFCON title in Mozambique, the same year they beat Egypt in the Final of the COSAFA Beach Soccer Cup and are also the second runners-up at the 2022 COSAFA U-20 Men’s championship.
Who will be crowned the new U-2- African Cup of Nations champions? Will it be the Scorpions or the Lions?
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