This archive report was first published on 4 July 2019.
Senegal's ambition to win a first Africa Cup of Nations remains unwavering, according to midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye, who spoke on the eve of their meeting with Uganda in the last 16 in Cairo on Friday, July 5, 2019.
“Everyone made us the competition favourite but then we lost against Algeria, we were subjected to a lot of criticism about our abilities,” Gueye said in a news conference.
Despite the criticism, Senegal are Africa’s top-ranked team and have comfortably dispatched both Kenya and Tanzania in their group games.
However, their 1-0 loss to Algeria in Cairo unleashed unexpected vitriol from their own fans, who questioned the team's ability to win the Cup of Nations.
“We are always asked why we have not been able to win the Cup of Nations and we’re trying to find the answer,” Gueye said.
Senegal have been to the Cup of Nations finals just once, losing on penalties to Cameroon in Bamako, Mali in 2002.
