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By Ebenezer Bajela.
Senegal captain Amara Diouf says he is delighted to have broken Nigerian Victor Osimhen’s goals scoring record at the U-17 Africa Cup of Nations.
The Senegalese scored a brace against South Africa in the quarter-finals in Algiers on Wednesday evening to take his tally to five goals in the tournament.
The 14-year-old left winger surpassed the record of four goals set by Osimhen at the 2015 tournament in Niger, with two more games to play.
Bearing in mind Osimhen’s current exploits at Italian champions Napoli, Diouf 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,” he said in an interview with CAFOnline.
“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 honoured 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,” Diouf added.
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 winners between Nigeria and Burkina Faso in the semi-final stage of the tournament.