Senegal and Gambia Qualify For TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON

Senegal and Gambia qualify for TotalEnergies U-20 AFCON

The U-20 men's teams of Senegal and Gambia have reached the final of the WAFU A qualifiers to secure their slot to the TotalEnergies U-20 Africa Cup of Nations scheduled for Egypt next year.

The West Africa Football Union (WAFU) A tournament being played in Mauritania saw Senegal dominate the host country in their semi-final clash on Friday.

The Baby Cubs defeated the home side 4-1 in the last four match to clinch their place in the final while Gambia beat Mali 4-2 on penalties to advance.At the end of regulation time, the two teams were tied at 1-1.

Before playing the final, the Senegal team dominated its qualifying group by winning three games against Guinea, Cape Verde and Gambia respectively but conceded a draw in their clash with Liberia.

The Gambia took second place behind Senegal in Group B with the same number of points as Guinea (seven points).

The Young Scorpions advanced thanks to their superior goal difference.

In Group A, it was Mali who topped the poll, however, with the same number as Mauritania (seven points, i.e. two wins and a draw), they took top spot also thanks to their better goal difference.

In the semi-finals on Friday, the young Malians took the lead but failed to finish off the game with several scoring chances before Gambia equalized. The latter had stronger nerves to win 4-2 in the penalty shoot-outs.

Champion of the zone and semi-finalists of the previous U-20 AFCON, the Gambians will try to retain their title against the impressive Senegalese.