Senegal's coach Serigne Saliou Dia said his team is at the TotalEnergies U17 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON), Algiers 2023, to roll on the country's new found winning tradition in Continental Championships.

Senegal have recently been crowned winners of the TotalEnergies Africa Nations Championship (CHAN) on Algerian soil, adding on to their U20 title in Egypt this year as well as senior AFCON and Beach Soccer AFCON titles won last year.

Speaking ahead of the team's opening match against Congo scheduled for Sunday in Algiers, Dia says they are determined to follow in the footsteps of their seniors, but is quick to admit they will face a difficult tournament.

Looking ahead to the opening match against Congo, the tactician says they will need to be at their best.

"It will be a tough match for both of us. We don't know much about Congo and their strategy and it is never easy to play such matches," the tactician said.

The former Senegalese international adds; "The chances are equal for everyone. Each team has a 25pc chance to qualify for the quarter finals. We will do our best to win."

The coach says his team has prepared well physically and psychologically, noting that the friendly matches they had before the tournament have helped them remain in good shape and better prepared.

"We are in Algeria to win, and to continue with the tradition by our other teams," a confident Dia added.

Captain Amara Diouf also affirmed his coach's words, saying the players are psyched to ensure they also get into the history books among the title winning Senegalese teams.

"We are here in Algeria to learn and we are going to do everything possible to move forward step by step. We have everything and we will follow the advice of the coach. He has not put pressure on us and we will be going in to express ourselves on the pitch," Diouf added.

Senegal are playing at the tournament for the third time. Their two previous appearances in 2011 and 2019 ended in the group stages and they hope to do better this time round.