The friendly match against Kenya has taken on greater importance than expected: after the lackluster performance against Brazil (2-0), the Senegalese national team, even with a largely revamped lineup, must win on Tuesday (3:00 PM GMT) in Antalya to dispel any doubts.
This is the moment to prove that the Senegalese national team remains united and indivisible, and that it is also capable of bouncing back quickly under Pape Thiaw, even with most of its reserves on the pitch. After being soundly beaten by Brazil on Saturday night in London, Kenya comes to face the Lions, again in a friendly. But this time, it will be in Antalya, at the Mardan Sports Complex, where the atmosphere should be much less supportive of the opposition, unlike at the Emirates Stadium, where Kalidou Koulibaly and his teammates were overwhelmed by waves of yellow and green.
It must be said that the defeat against Carlo Ancelotti’s men was a setback and not only ended a 26-match unbeaten run. The Senegalese, among the favorites for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and highly ambitious for the 2026 World Cup, were lackluster, displaying a complete lack of pressure, especially against an opponent of this caliber. “I would say it was a good defeat, but we learned a lot from this match. Now that we’ve lost, we need to move on, starting with the match against Kenya to properly prepare for the AFCON,” the coach stated in the post-match press conference.
To regain confidence and get off to a good start in the AFCON… Because his Lions are already under pressure to avoid creating further doubt in this final match before the AFCON squad announcement. A second consecutive match without a win, a first since 2022, between the friendly against Iran (1-1) and this World Cup defeat against the Netherlands (0-2), would be disastrous, especially with the final tournament fast approaching (December 21, 2025 – January 18, 2026). And let’s not even mention two consecutive defeats, as this hasn’t happened since 2015, when Aliou Cissé’s team lost 1-0 to South Africa and then to Algeria.
To get back on track for the continental tournament, Kenya appears to be the ideal sparring partner. “At the AFCON, we’ll have many opponents like this,” notes Thiaw. “This match is interesting, even though Kenya didn’t qualify for the AFCON. We expect a difficult match, but we’ve been working on that.” Against this kind of team, you have to take control of the match as early as possible. It won’t be easy because they have their strengths. They’ll try to make things difficult for us, but it will be up to us to adapt. For preparation for the Africa Cup of Nations, Kenya is a good opponent.
Senegal has only won the AFCON once in its history, in 2022. They also reached the finals in 2002 and 2019. Just under two years ago, the Lions were eliminated in the Round of 16 by Ivory Coast after a thrilling match that went to penalties (1-1, 4-5 on penalties). It goes without saying that the upcoming tournament in Morocco will be no walk in the park. The training camp for this AFCON will begin in early December. The Lions will then play a friendly match at the Abdoulaye-Wade Stadium in Diamniadio before flying to Morocco, where they will be in Group D with Botswana, DR Congo, and Benin.
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