Senegal skipper Amara Diouf broke Nigerian Victor Osimhen’s scoring record at the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), his brace against South Africa in the quarter finals in Algiers on Wednesday evening taking his tally to five in the tournament.
The Senegalese number 10 surpassed the record of four goals set by Nigeria’s Osimhen at the 2015 tournament in Niger, with two more games to play.
Bearing in mind Osimhen’s current exploits at his Italian club Napoli, Diouf says he is delighted to follow in the footsteps of such a successful player.
“It is always the right path if you follow the examples set by the best players in the competition. This is a massive thing for me and I am really delighted to break the record. It means a lot to me and hopefully, I can also follow his path of success,” Diouf said.
The Generation Foot Academy prodigy was named man of the match for the third of Senegal’s four matches so far at the tournament, for his brace in the 5-0 win against the Amajimbos as well as his overall performance in the match.
“I am hugely honored to be named man of the match and more so for Senegal to win the game and qualify for the World Cup. It is a big achievement for us as players and it motivates us moving forward,” noted Diouf.
Senegal now switch their attention to the semis and are set to make the journey back to Constantine, where they played the final group stage match.
They will take on the winner between Nigeria and Burkina Faso at the semi-final stage of the tournament.