Thiaw wants error-free game against Sudan

Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw insists there will be no room for errors when they meet Sudan in the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations round of 16 at the Tangier Grand Stadium on Saturday, January 3.

Kick-off is at 6pm CAT (SA, GMT+2).

Current form:

The Lions of Teranga advanced to the knockout stages as Group D winners with an unbeaten record and they are the joint-second-highest goalscorers in the tournament (7) after Nigeria (8).

Thiaw's side kicked off their title challenge with a 3-0 victory over Botswana before playing out to a 1-1 draw against DR Congo and they maintained their unbeaten start by beating Benin 3-0 to pip the Leopards to top spot on goal difference.

However, the 2021 Afcon champions were at their best in the clash with DR Congo and had to come from behind to claim a share of the spoils after Sadio Mane (69') cancelled out Cedric Bakambu's 61st-minute opener.

Sudan secured their passage to the next round as one of the best-ranked third-placed teams after only picking up three points from their opening three matches.

The Falcons of Jediane suffered a 3-0 defeat to Algeria first up in Group E and got their tournament up and running with 1-0 win against Equatorial Guinea, but then lost 2-0 against Burkina Faso.

Kwesi Appiah's side will know what to expect from the West Africans, having faced them twice in 2026 World Cup qualifying, with Senegal running out 2-0 victors on 5 September 2025 after playing out to a 0-0 draw earlier that year on March 22.

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What was said:

Senegal head coach Pape Thiaw

"The players deserve all the praise for their performance in this difficult match that we played with ten men for some parts of the game. We faced a very determined Benin team but we managed to achieve our main objective of finishing top of the group.

"Our next objective is to correct the mistakes we made in our group stage match before we go into the Round of 16 because on that stage there will be no rooms for errors which will be published. We will use the next few days to address these problems."

Players to watch:

Senegal - This could well be Sadio Mane's last Afcon appearance and he will be looking to make a greater impact after contributing just one goal and one assist in three starts. The 33-year-old winger didn't affect the outcome against the Zebras, but scored the equaliser in the draw with the Leopards before setting up Habib Diallo for their second goal against the Cheetahs.

Sudan - Muhamed Abdelrahman is one of the most experienced members of Appiah's squad and he's their main source of goals. The 32-year-old striker has bagged 23 goals for his country, making him their third-highest goalscorer behind Haytham Tambal (24) and Nasr El-Din Abbas (27). But Abdelrahman has struggled in Morocco and found himself on the bench against the Stallions after underwhelming performances against the Fennecs and the National Thunder.

Head-to-Head:

Matches - 5

Senegal wins - 4

Sudan wins - 0

Draws - 1