Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly has praised Egypt’s remarkable run at the Africa Cup of Nations and warned that his team are fully focused ahead of their semi-final showdown on Wednesday.
Speaking at the pre-match press conference, he admitted the Pharaohs “were outside the early predictions” compared to favourites like Morocco, Senegal, Algeria and Nigeria, but said they deserve huge credit for reaching the last four.
Koulibaly stressed that Senegal know Egypt very well, highlighting their experience and the quality of their players, and insisted his side must be at their best to overcome them. He explained that Senegal will play “with full strength” and fight for victory to book a place in the final and continue defending their continental crown.
The defender added that the squad has closely followed Egypt’s games in Morocco and analysed all their key weapons.
He concluded that Senegal’s clear objective is to win the match and secure qualification, reminding everyone that the Teranga Lions had beaten Egypt on penalties in the 2021 AFCON final and are hungry to repeat their success.
