LAGOS, Nigeria (VOICE OF NAIJA) – African champions Senegal defeated Brazil 4-2 to win the match in a Tuesday night international friendly game.
Lucas Paqueta scored the game’s first goal at the Jose Alvalade Stadium in Lisbon, Portugal, with help from Real Madrid’s in-form winger Vinicius Junior.
After a VAR review, referee Gustavo Correia overturned his earlier judgment to award the Samba Boys a penalty after Pathe Ciss was found to have fouled in the danger zone in the 17th minute.
After 22 minutes, Habib Diallo capitalized on a loose ball in the box to guarantee that the countries entered halftime tied.
Marquinhos’ own-goal in the 54th minute gave the Teranga Lions their first lead.
Two minutes later, Diallo put up Sadio Mane of Bayern Munich for a goal that made it 3-1 in favor of the West Africans.
The goalkeeper Mory Diaw’s poor positioning allowed Marquinhos to cut the lead in half in the 58th minute, making up for his earlier error.
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The South American powerhouses gave up a penalty in stoppage time, and Mane stepped up to finish a hat trick and give his team a sound 4-2 victory. Senegal had the last laugh.
In the competitions to qualify for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, the Teranga Lions have performed admirably.
A spot in the Ivory Coast finals has been secured for the West African team in Group L thanks to their 13 points amassed from their five games.
On matchday six, Rwanda will be the opponent for the team captained by Aliou Cisse, who hasn’t lost a game in the qualifying rounds.
Senegal is anticipated to play more international friendlies as they get ready to defend their Afcon championship in Ivory Coast in 2019.