Senegal national team captain, Salidou Koulibaly, has praised his side’s character and historic achievement following their impressive 3-1 friendly victory over England on Tuesday night.
The ex-Chelsea and Napoli centre-back likened the triumph to Senegal’s Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) glory in 2022, describing both moments as milestones in the nation’s football journey.
The match, played at City Ground, saw England’s skipper Harry Kane open the scoring for Thomas Tuchel’s team just seven minutes into the game.
But Senegal responded swiftly, with Ismaila Sarr finding the net to level the score.
In the second half, the Lions of Teranga surged ahead with goals from Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly, sealing a memorable win against the Three Lions.
“Fantastic night. It was a tough game, but we showed our personality and showed we can play at this level,” Koulibaly told BBC Radio 5 Live.
“We aren’t used to making history and we made it when we won [the 2022] AFCON and we made it tonight.
“We want to continue writing the story of Senegal. We wanted to show we have a good nation.”
With this result, Senegal has become the first African nation to defeat England in an international match, a landmark feat that further elevates the profile of African football on the global stage.
