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German Senegal U17 held by Gambia as Lionceaux Finish Group Stage Top
Thiès, Senegal — Senegal U17 and Gambia U17 played out a goalless draw on Sunday at the Stade Lat Dior de Thiès, as the two West African neighbours brought the group stage of the WAFU Zone A U17 tournament to a close.
With both sides already assured of their places in the semi-finals, the encounter was primarily about finishing top of Group A. In the end, neither team could find the breakthrough, with Senegal securing the point needed to finish first in the group.
The Gambians started brightly and created the first real threat of the afternoon. A free-kick in the second minute caused no serious danger, before Lamine Faty tested Senegal goalkeeper Assane Sarr in the sixth minute.
Senegal responded two minutes later when Souleymane Commissaire Faye forced Gambian goalkeeper Mouhamed Trawally into a save.
The game remained competitive but lacked the cutting edge in the final third. Both teams went into the break level at 0-0 after a balanced opening 45 minutes.
After the restart, Senegal pushed forward in search of the winning goal, but the Gambian defence remained disciplined and the Lionceaux struggled to turn their possession and attacking movements into a decisive finish.
The 0-0 result means Senegal close the group stage unbeaten and, more importantly, at the summit of Group A.
Lamine Sané’s side had made a perfect start to the tournament, defeating Mauritania 4-0 before producing another convincing 5-0 victory over Sierra Leone. Those two wins had already secured Senegal’s passage to the semi-finals before Sunday’s derby.
The draw against Gambia therefore does little to diminish what has been an impressive group-stage campaign. Senegal scored nine goals in its opening two matches without conceding, before ending the group phase with a clean sheet against a Gambian side that had also shown its strength earlier in the competition with a 4-1 victory over Sierra Leone.
Now, the real test begins.
Senegal will face the second-placed team from Group B in the semi-finals on September 17, with a place in the final and another step toward defending their WAFU Zone A U17 title at stake. The Lionceaux entered this tournament as double defending champions, having won the competition in 2024 and 2025.
The draw may not have produced the fireworks expected from a Senegal-Gambia derby, but Senegal got what mattered most: top spot, another clean sheet and a place in the last four.
The business is now getting serious.
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