Afcon 2017: Senegal's spirit pleases coach Aliou Cisse
Last updated on .From the section Football
Senegal coach Aliou Cisse praised his players' attitude after they beat Tunisia 2-0 in their Africa Cup of Nations opening match.
The Teranga Lions have not always delivered to their potential at previous finals and some have questioned their character.
"My first job was to change the players' mentality," said Cisse. "Now they have ambition and work hard.
"They showed solidarity and also humility, to keep working and running."
Senegal undoubtedly have talent in their squad, not least in Africa's most expensive footballer Sadio Mane.
And the Liverpool striker lived up to his billing by scoring Senegal's first goal - from the penalty spot - only 10 minutes into the match. Kara Mbodji added a second 20 minutes later but were pegged back in the second half as Tunisia came on strong.
Tunisia were guilty of missing several chances, but Cisse felt his side showed the kind of resistance that they need in order to go far in the tournament.
"Sometimes you can't always control the game technically, you need to have the right mentality and to fight. This is very important for us." he added.
