Senegal missed the tournament’s last 16 by a whisker after losing to Colombia despite dominating in the last Group match.
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Senegal fans won the hearts of millions of people around the world after a video of them cleaning up a section of the stadium emerged following their 2-1 opener over Poland at the Spartak Stadium on Monday.
Instead, of bursting into wild celebrations as the Teranga Lions became the first African side to win a match in Russia‚ the fans stayed back to pack their litter in plastic bags in a video clip that since went viral.
The 2-1 victory was the first and only African win in the first round of matches, after Egypt, Morocco, Nigeria and Tunisia had all lost their opening games.
One of the Senegalese fans, who was interviewed stated that it was a common practice in their country to clean up after matches. “In my country, we do this every time. Every time we have matches in the stadium when we finish...the supporters clean up too.”
The stylish African side quickly established themselves as one of the most loveable teams at the tournament via some excellent dance moves and a coach, who became a sex symbol plus some exciting football.
And it was a damn injustice that they became the first side to taste the utter heartbreak of an exit decided by fair play. They beat Poland, drew with Japan before a slender loss to Colombia sealed their fate.
No wonder their dramatic exit was met with heartache across Africa. The Lions of Teranga, lost 1-0 to their South American opponents, despite being the better side in the first half and having a penalty decision overturned.
Senegal lost out on a second spot in the Group to Japan because of a worse disciplinary record. Senegal followed Egypt, Tunisia, Morocco and Nigeria - all failing to advance past the group stage, meaning no African team has reached the second round for the first time since the 1982 finals in Spain.
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