BY OUR MAN IN TANGIER
THE Glistening Ibn Batouta Stadium in Tangier provided a world-class backdrop to a world-class comeback as Senegal booked their place in the AFCON quarter-finals with a 3-1 dismantling of Sudan.
Morocco’s crown jewel of the north—a mammoth 75,000-capacity arena named after the legendary explorer—was the true star of the show. With its sweeping white architecture and a pitch that looked like a snooker table, the venue lived up to its billing as one of the finest stages in world football.
But for six heart-stopping minutes, the Senegal faithful inside the Grand Stade de Tanger were silenced. Sudan’s Aamir Abdallah Yunis produced a moment of pure magic that briefly threatened to upstage the magnificent surroundings, curling a peach of an effort over Edouard Mendy to give the Falcons of Jediane a shock lead.
The Lions of Teranga, however, refused to let their Moroccan party be crashed. In the shadow of the stadium’s towering stands, Pape Gueye took control.
The midfielder hammered home an equaliser on 29 minutes before completing the turnaround on the stroke of half-time, firing into the bottom corner to send the Senegalese fans into raptures.
Sudan fought bravely in the second half, but the sheer scale of the occasion—and the quality of the opposition—eventually told. With 13 minutes remaining, 17-year-old sensation Ibrahim Mbaye emerged from the bench to seal the deal, lashing home a third to ensure Senegal’s journey continues.
As the final whistle echoed around the Tangier bowl, it was clear that while Sudan provided the grit, Senegal provided the glamour. The Teranga Lions march on, and on this evidence, they look right at home in Morocco’s footballing palaces.
