Wafcon 2024: Senegal dominate DR Congo in Group A opener

This was the second Wafcon meeting between the two sides following DR Congo’s 1-0 victory in 2012 – but there was little danger of a repeat here.

Making their third appearance at a finals, this performance will give Senegal high hopes of causing an upset or two, with their starting front three of Diop, Ndiaye and Hapsatou Malado exhibiting a level of pace and physicality that DR Congo found impossible to live with.

But the simple way in which they carved through their opponents will have made Congo’s French coach Herve Happy a miserable man – so much so that he made a decisive early substitution in an ultimately futile attempt to plug the leaks.

Senegal captain Diop was the star of the show, with the rangy Marseille striker beginning the rout after just five minutes by lifting a sumptuous scooped lob on the half-volley up and over goalkeeper Fideline Ngoy from outside the penalty area.

It was a class finish that marked the 30-year-old out as one to watch as the tournament progresses.

Ndiaye, playing as one of two wide forwards flanking Diop, added the second in the 13th minute after latching on to a simple through ball.

She could have gone down on the edge of the box after being clipped by Ngoy – a challenge that would surely have resulted in a red card for the keeper – but kept her feet after a stumble to find an empty net.

Diop scored the third in the 22nd minute, slotting home after Ngoy had parried her first effort, and Ndiaye headed the fourth on 40 minutes after running unmarked into the area to convert a cross from Malado.