I can feel the Palace support during AFCON campaign – Kouyaté

Cheikhou Kouyaté has said he can feel the support given to him by Crystal Palace fans as he tries to reach another Africa Cup of Nations final with Senegal.

“I really feel the support and I know that they are watching,” he said in an interview with LondonWorld. “I will be back, but for now I want them to support me and help with the AFCON so I can return as a champion and we can have a great season together.”

After being suspended in the Round of 16, Kouyaté made a huge impact in Senegal’s quarter-final victory over Equatorial Guinea, coming off the bench to score the crucial second goal as they progressed to the last four.

Senegal now face Burkina Faso in the semi-finals, after the latter produced an excellent display to knock out Tunisia.

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“We deserved to the win against Equatorial Guinea,” Kouyaté told London World. “We have been working hard and progressing slowly throughout this tournament.

“All the games are tough here, and when you get to the knockout stages of AFCON you need a bit of luck and pray to avoid any bad injuries. I must say we are together, so fingers crossed one after the other.

“I won’t say anything – we all know what winning the AFCON will mean to all of us.”

With Senegal among the favourites to win the competition, a victory this evening will mean a meeting with either Egypt or hosts Cameroon in the final – and a second chance for Kouyaté after falling at the last in 2019.

“We need to remain humble and we need to stay focused if we want to win this tournament,” he said. “We don’t have to put ourselves under any other pressure, we just have to stay humble.

“If we want to win this game, we need to go there fighting.”