Idrissa Gueye: "We Were Ready for Anything Before the Final, Even Telling Ourselves: If They Put Us in a Trash Can, We'd Sleep There and Stay Silent"

Senegal's second captain, Idrissa Gueye, stated that the circumstances leading up to the Africa Cup of Nations final against Morocco were "normal," despite attempts by some parties to "exaggerate matters."

The Everton player told "Onze Mondial" magazine: "Everything that happened before the final was completely normal. We knew that, and people are exaggerating things."

He added: "Before the final, and even before the Africa Cup of Nations, everyone knew about the good relations between Moroccans and Senegalese. This wonderful relationship has lasted for years and we must not spoil it. They are friends, they are brothers."

Gueye continued: "We knew it wouldn't be an easy match, but a tense one, yet we were ready for anything. We were calm and 200% focused. Anything could happen, but it wouldn't affect us, neither emotionally nor mentally."

He concluded: "We even told ourselves: If they put us in a trash can, we'd sleep there and stay silent."

It is worth noting that the Senegalese Football Federation chose to escalate matters before the AFCON final, deliberately announcing to Senegalese fans the arrival time of their team's delegation at the Rabat train station, which nearly caused a security breach, in addition to their unjustified complaints about organizational issues.