VIDEO SHOWS: SENEGAL AND BOTSWANA PRESS CONFERENCES RESENDING WITH FULL SCRIPT SHOWS: TANGIER, MOROCCO (DECEMBER 22, 2025) (STATS PERFORM – Access all) 1. (SOUNDBITE) (French) PAPE THIAW, SENEGAL COACH, SAYING: "Of course, there are expectations, we know that, but we're a team, we don't hide behind them. We're among the favourites, and we also know that the AFCON is very high-level, and all the teams here deserve to be there. So, to address these kinds of expectations, I think we have to take it one match at a time. We need to take every match seriously and play them properly. We know that tomorrow we'll be facing a very good Botswana team that came through a very difficult group. And now, it's up to us to be prepared and put in all the necessary effort to achieve our goal. 2. WHITE FLASH 3. (SOUNDBITE) (French) KALIDOU KOULIBALY, SENEGAL DEFENDER, SAYING: "Indeed, I'm on the cusp of the AFCON tournament. I'm very proud to have played in five AFCON tournaments with Senegal. From the moment I joined the national team it was my goal to play in the AFCON and win it. We won it once, but I think we're hungry, hungry for victory. I think that today, I'm approaching this AFCON very differently from the first ones I played in, because I have more experience. Having played in five AFCON tournaments, I think I have experience and advice that I can give to the younger players. "Today, we know that we've become a favorite team. It's up to us to stay calm, to bring back that composure. I think my role is more about that, bringing serenity and calm to these young players, because we really have a lot of talent, players with enormous potential, who are capable of making the difference, and it's up to us to bring all that positive energy back to the team. And behind all the staff we have as well, so we can bring something back for our people. That's our goal today. But I'm approaching it very differently from the first AFCON tournaments I played in, because I have more experience. Let's just say I've travelled extensively in Africa. I know most of the stadiums in Africa, I know most of the teams, so it's up to me to bring that experience, and that's what we're going to do with the five most experienced players on this team: Sadio Mane, Idrissa Gueye, Ismaïla Sarr, Abdoulaye Seck, and Edouard Mendy. They have that experience that will allow us to, let's say, mentor the younger players and create that mix that will allow us to go as far as possible in this competition. I think that's it." 4. WHITE FLASH 5. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORENA RAMOREBOLI, BOTSWANA COACH, SAYING: "Yes, I think this is a big tournament in the continent, and it also requires a high level of preparation and a high level of commitment, which I think we have tried our level best to make sure that we prepared along these lines and also tried to make sure that we are ready for the match. It's a big match. which requires us to also bring our A-game, and I believe that we are ready for the task." 6. WHITE FLASH 7. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORENA RAMOREBOLI, BOTSWANA COACH, SAYING: "A team that is playing a very flexible 4-2-3-1 with a lot of overloads. Sometimes, like I say, they are very flexible, they can even play from a second ball, they can even play on diagonal balls, very, very, very influential in starting their play at the back. The right side, they always try to influence the game. You know they have two types of fullbacks, if they feel that maybe there's a lot of pressure, they bring defensive fullbacks, if they feel that they need to attack more, they change and bring fullbacks that can give them that offensive edge. So, I mean, we know who we are facing, and we have tried our level best to make sure that we profile and analyse them better. And we need also to make sure that, as we do that, we complement our strengths, our weaknesses to make sure that we become a better team on the day." 8. WHITE FLASH 9. (SOUNDBITE) (English) MORENA RAMOREBOLI, BOTSWANA COACH, SAYING: "I think we can only take the positives and the motivation from athletes in our country, but we need also to be honest. It's easy to prepare one individual for a race, but it's very difficult to prepare 11 people for a tournament, because you firstly need to choose the best 11 from more than 3000 players that you have, but it's very simple for you to say Letsile (Tebogo, sprinter) is our top athlete than for us to invest and prepare him, it's much easier." STORY: Senegal and Botswana prepared for their opening Africa Cup of Nations Group D match in Tangier on Monday (December 22). Senegal are among the favourites to win the tournament but speaking to the media coach Pape Thiaw downplayed that tag, saying his players will not look too far ahead and will take the tournament one match at a time. It is the fifth AFCON for defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who is hoping that the experience he and other Senegal players like Sadio Mane and Idrissa Gueye can bring to the squad will help the younger players in the tournament. Botswana coach Morena Ramoreboli is hoping that his players can take inspiration from athletes like Letsile Tebogo, who won the men's 200 metres gold medal for the country at the Paris Olympics in 2024. (Production: Andy Ragg)
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