MATCH FACTS: Zambia seek first win at TotalEnergies CAF WAFCON against Senegal
The two nations previously met in the quarterfinals of the 2022 edition, where the match ended 1-1 after extra time. Zambia triumphed 4-2 on penalties. In that encounter, Senegal took the lead through Nguenar N'Diaye in the 61st minute, before Avell Chitundu equalised for Zambia in the 70th. The game went to extra time and then penalties, where Zambia prevailed.
Zambia are unbeaten in their last three matches against West African opposition at the WAFCON finals. In 2022, they defeated Togo in the group stage, drew with Senegal (before winning on penalties), and beat Nigeria in the third-place play-off.
Senegal, meanwhile, will be facing Southern African opposition for the third time at the finals. In addition to their shoot-out loss to Zambia in 2022, they also lost 1-0 to South Africa in the 2012 group stage.
PAST WAFCON MEETING: Quarterfinals – 13 July 2022: Zambia 1 (Chitundu 70') Senegal 1 (N'Diaye 61') Zambia won 4-2 on penalties
ZAMBIA – KEY FACTS: Drew 2-2 with hosts Morocco in their opening match. Barbra Banda's goal after just 58 seconds was the second-fastest in WAFCON history, and the fastest ever by a Zambian player.
Remain unbeaten in their last five group stage matches (W2 D3), a run that began in 2022.
Should they avoid defeat, Zambia will go unbeaten in their opening two matches for the second consecutive tournament (2022: 0-0 vs Cameroon, 1-0 vs Tunisia).
Zambia's record in second group matches: P3 W1 L2. Their only win came in 2022 (1-0 vs Tunisia); previous defeats were heavy losses to Nigeria in 2014 (6-0) and 2018 (4-0).
Barbra Banda has now scored in four major tournaments for Zambia: two Olympic Games, the 2023 FIFA Women's World Cup, and WAFCON.
Racheal Kundananji, who scored Zambia's second goal against Morocco, now has four WAFCON goals, including three from 2018.
Zambia had six shots on target against Morocco – Kundananji attempted three of them.
Despite the draw, Zambia completed only 126 passes compared to Morocco's 358 and held just 31% possession.
SENEGAL – KEY FACTS: Opened their campaign with a dominant 4-0 win over DR Congo – their biggest-ever win at the finals.
All four goals were scored in the first half – the first time Senegal have netted multiple goals in a half at WAFCON.
They have now won their opening game in back-to-back tournaments, having beaten Uganda 2-0 in 2022.
Their record in second group matches: P2 W1 L1. They lost 1-0 to South Africa in 2012 and beat Burkina Faso 1-0 in 2022 – both games ended with a single goal.
Against DR Congo, they had eight shots on target (six in the first half).
Mama Diop and Nguenar N'Diaye each scored twice. Diop had three shots on target, while N'Diaye converted both of hers.
N'Diaye is the first Senegalese player to score in two WAFCON editions.
A goal for either Diop or N'Diaye would make them the first Senegalese players to score in consecutive matches at the finals.
If Senegal win and keep a clean sheet, they will start the tournament with back-to-back wins and shutouts for the second time in a row (2022: 2-0 vs Uganda, 1-0 vs Tunisia).
Adama Sane had a game-high 70 touches in the win over DR Congo.
Senegal have already equaled their total goal tally from the entire 2022 tournament (4 goals).
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