Senegal manager Aliou Cisse has reacted to his team's shock round of 16 exit from the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations at the hands of host nation Ivory Coast.
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The reigning champions struck early through Habibou Diallo on Monday night, after the 28-year-old forward was set up by former Liverpool winger Sadio Mane in the fourth minute.
With the Lions of Teranga unable to bury the encounter, an 86th-minute converted penalty from ex-AC Milan midfielder Franck Kessie sent the match to extra-time before the Elephants eventually booked their place in the last eight following a penalty shootout.
The result means that no champion since Egypt in 2010 has made it to the quarter-final stage of the competition, with Cisse admitting that his future is likely to have crunch talks with Senegal's footballing federation in store.
"When we win we are happy, when we lose we have to earn our dignity. In defeat, we will keep our dignity! It's a bit of a weird match with some game facts, no need to go over that again. My only regret is that after our goal we lost the main thread of the match," he said, according to MondialSport.
"It's football. In 2022, we were happy, today we are sad, but that's how football goes. Ivory Coast had possession of the ball but were not too dangerous. We could have played this match for two hours.
"I don't think they wouldn't have been able to score, but I knew it was going to come down to the details, set-piece or penalty. We had a penalty, the referee didn't go to see the VAR, they got it and he went to see it.
"I'm disappointed with the result, especially for my boys. We'll see what the future has in store for us. First I want to digest this defeat because everyone is disappointed. There will surely be discussions with my federation, but my future doesn't matter at the moment."
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Ivory Coast will take on the winner of Mali vs Burkina Faso in the quarter-finals this coming Saturday.
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