Young Teranga Lions of Senegal Crowned U17 AFCON Champions for the Second Time
Young Teranga Lions of Senegal are the TotalEnergies CAF Under-17 Africa Cup of Nations, Morocco 2026 champions after beating Tanzania 4-2 on penalties after a 1-1 draw in Tuesday’s final in Rabat.
The Serengeti Boys of Tanzania opened the scoring in the first half with Hamis Mihambo in the 7th minute of the clash, allowing coach Elieneza Nsanganzelu’s side to end the first half as winners.
Dione Ibrahima got the opportunity to play in the final when Cheikh Sy was substituted in the 62nd minute, and he scored the equaliser of the match in the next two minutes after he came on, in the 64th minute.
The referee from Algeria, Mohammed Rafik Aouina, finally whistled for the end of the final with neither side able to find a winner in normal time, and stretched the decider to penalty shoot-outs.
The Young Teranga Lions were more composed to win another continental title at the U17 level after they won in Algeria in 2023.
Faye, Sadio, Dione and Thior all scored for Senegal in the shootout, while Tanzania scored through Usuph and Mbegelendi, but Kilendemo and Mbegu missed their attempts.
The Young Teranga Lions of Senegal also added to the success story of Senegal, having lifted the trophy for all CAF International tournaments organised in 2026. They won the second edition of the CAF U15 AFCON, the U17 AFCON and the men’s national team at the 2026 AFCON in Morocco.
The iconic former captain of the Teranga Lions, Lamine Sané, had little time to prepare after he was appointed the head coach in April 2026 but had to rely on his natural leadership and knowledge of top-level competition to help clinch the trophy.
