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In a tournament that has seen lesser forces unsettle the big guns, the Teranga Lions of Senegal signaled they were having none of that via a solid 2-0 victory over the Taifa Stars of Tanzania.
The Teranga Lions were without captain Sadio Mane due to a suspension picked up in the qualifiers, but that didn't dampen the mood. The Tanzanians had to contend with wave after wave of Senegalese onslaught, succumbing in the end to two well-taken strikes either side of half time.
The Senegalese national team are habitual top performers at AFCON, and in the end, this result against a little known Tanzanian side was inevitable.
Here are a couple of reasons why the Teranga Lions started their quest for a maiden AFCON trophy on the front foot.
#3 A level head
Aliou Cisse's men embark on their AFCON title quest with a plethora of statistical accolades. They are the top-ranked side in Africa, they are ranked 22 in the FIFA pecking order, and they amassed the most points on the way to AFCON 2019 (16).
Aside from the fact that they always put up a solid performance at AFCON, this year they also have some of the best players in the world amongst their traveling party, including Sadio Mane and Kalidou Koulibaly.
All this would be enough to breed complacency in camp, however, head coach Aliou Cisse hasn't let all that get to his head. He said recently,
“Favourites are the teams who have won. Senegal have never won the Cup of Nations. Egypt have seven times. But we know our strengths and we are genuine challengers,” said Cisse, whose side is the highest-ranked in Africa, at 22 in the world
“Our recent results show that Senegal is making progress. But the statistics don’t lead to victories. France were not top of the Fifa rankings and they were world champions,”
Such a level headed disposition is essential if he is to keep the ego of his team in check because they have to win each team presented before them, even footballing minnows like Tanzania.
#2 A huge gulf in class
This was pretty obvious.
The Taifa Stars have only been to the AFCON once previously, and that too in 1980. That's a staggering 39-year absence!
On the other hand, this is Senegal's 15th appearance, and they finished runners up in 2002. That's in stark contrast to the Tanzanians who don't have a win to their name at the biennial showpiece.
This was always going to be a work over for FIFA's 22nd ranked team, as they had the experience of playing in multiple AFCONs and FIFA World Cups, as well as boasting of some of the world's finest performers in their ranks such as Kalidou Koulibaly, Keita Balde, and Idrissa Gueye, just to name a few.
It doesn't get any easier for Tanzania, as they have the Desert Foxes of Algeria and the Harambee Stars of Kenya to come.
#1 A relentless onslaught
The attacking onslaught of the Teranga Lions was relentless, as they hit the Tanzanian defence with wave after wave of offence from the first blast of the whistle.
Even without the irrepressible Sadio Mane, the Senegalese attacking machine was a handful for Emmanuel Amuneke's men.
Senegal had 64 percent of the possession, and Tanzania had a mere 36 percent. The Teranga Lions also had 24 shots in total, with 10 on target. That's in firm contrast to Tanzania's 3, with none hitting the target.
There were a lot of missed opportunities, and Senegal will need to work that out against tougher opponents. However, Inter Milan's Keita Balde broke the deadlock in the 27th minute via a well-placed strike to the bottom right corner of Tanzania's goal.
Senegal went into half time with just that slender lead, and in the second 45 minutes, they continued to pepper the Tanzanian goal with a plethora of attacking maneuvers. In the 63rd minute, Krepin Diatta finally put the game to bed via a thunderous shot from just outside the box.
An absolute domineering performance, but the Senegalese will have to be more clinical in front of goal if they are to beat the AFCON's more illustrious sides.
