First in their group and on track to qualify, Senegal still had to be wary of round of 16“>Malawi in this third and final group match. At kick-off, the Flames were still in the running for qualification, thanks to their last success over Zimbabwe (2-1). In addition to that, the outgoing finalist has struggled to convince since the start of the competition but fortunately Aliou Cissé recovered Mendy, Koulibaly and Gana Gueye in particular, just like Pape Gueye, whose suspension was… suspended. To Sadio Mané, disappointing during his two outings, and his teammates to raise their voices in the game.
However, the meeting started on similar bases to the matches seen previously against Zimbabwe and Guinea. The many duels and whistles of the referee broke a rhythm that had the greatest difficulty in getting carried away. Even if the Teranga Lions slightly dominated these first minutes, as evidenced by this opportunity from Mané after a cross from Bouna Sarr (7th), Malawi was not left out. Muyaba’s big shot in the middle responded to the Liverpool player’s opportunity. The debates were evenly balanced for a very long time.
Senegal was hot
The two teams neutralized each other in the game, Senegal still having the worst difficulty in being dangerous. We had to wait for the second period to finally see the Lions to their advantage. Diallo’s header went directly to a well-placed Thomu on his line (49th), and again imperial on this free kick from Gueye (59th). Malawi even came close to the feat on this foul committed by Sarr on Chirwa in the area but the referee, after whistling the penalty, reversed his decision following a passage by the VAR (75th).
Senegal was hot, and despite an opportunity from Diedhiou (87th), is content with another poor draw (0-0). Aliou Cissé’s men retain their first place in this group B and reach the round of 16. They are joined by Guinea, who were however beaten 2-1 by Zimbabwe. Naby Keita (49th) could only reduce the gap after the Warriors’ two goals scored by Musona (26th) and Mahachi (43rd). Malawi is 3rd in this pool and will have to wait for the other results to find out if this AFCON ends there or continues.
