By Bakah Derick
The 2019 runners-up of the Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) in Egypt were undoubtedly no small quantity in the 2021 rendez-vous in Cameroon. With a football world class player like Sadio Mané, it was certainly misplaced wisdom trying to ignore the Teranga Lions.
During their opening fixture against Zimbabwe, many expected an overbearing win for the Senegalese who rather elected for a humbling 1-0 win from the penalty spot in additional time.
It is obviously the high rating of the Lions that turned their second opponent; The Republic of Guinea to a huge giant. Finishing 1-1 with the Guineans started casting doubts on Sadio Mané and his group's capacity to go beyond the group stages.
As if to demonstrate maturity, the Teranga Lions did just the essentials settling for a draw against the Flames of Malawi. The nil-nil tie was good enough to take them to the round of 16 with five points.
Facing best looser Cape Verde from group A didn't look simply. The Cape Verdians managed to hold the Lions on a virgin draw at the end of the first 45mins. 18 minutes upon resumption, the big player Sadio Mané rose to the big occasion to get the opener and at full time teammate Dieng completed their 2-0 win.
The Senegalese will make their intention clearer when they take on Equatorial Guinea at the Quarter-finals. The Teranga Lions scored three times with Mané not included ending the game with a 3-1 win.
Their win qualified them for a semi-final match against another first title chaser Burkina Faso due to take place on Wednesday 2 February 2022 in Mfandena Yaounde.