All about Senegal: what to expect from England’s World Cup last 16 opponents
The Wolof word “teranga” in Senegal’s nickname denotes a generosity of spirit that the West African country is proud of, although it is unlikely to extend to England when the teams meet at the World Cup on Sunday.
It is no accident that the Teranga Lions are the reigning champions of Africa, and a team with a strong English connection show no sign of rolling over and allowing Gareth Southgate’s side an easy path to the quarter-finals.
Despite their strong pedigree and smattering of Premier League players, Senegal may not be wholly familiar to Three Lions supporters, so what should we expect from England’s opponents in the last 16?
Senegal at the World Cup
This is only Senegal’s third World Cup, although they have long since made their mark on the tournament. Their most celebrated generation, featuring El Hadji Diouf, beat holders France and reached the quarter-finals – equalling the best performance of any African nation at the finals – on their debut in 2002.
After a spell in the wilderness they returned in 2018, where they became the first team to miss out on a place in the last 16 because of their fair play record after tying with Japan on points, goals and head-to-head.
From England’s non-league to Qatar
All of Senegal’s squad play for overseas clubs and 10 belong to English sides, including goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and captain Kalidou Koulibaly of Chelsea.
Sheffield United forward Iliman Ndiaye is one of four in England’s second division and is already one of the great stories of this tournament. The French-born 22-year-old was rejected by several English teams before signing with Boreham Wood, and has gone from non-league to World Cup in three years.
Ndiaye only made his Senegal debut in the summer and forced his way into the starting XI for the vital final Group A win over Ecuador.
Uncompromising coach Cisse
Another with links to England, former Birmingham City and Portsmouth player Aliou Cisse is the bridge between Senegal’s two greatest eras.
The tough-tackling midfielder captained the 2002 side and then returned to the national team as coach in 2015, leading them to a first Africa Cup of Nations crown earlier this year. Still an uncompromising character, Cisse is said to have banned his players from wearing flashy watches.
Senegal’s strengths and weaknesses
After narrowly losing to the Netherlands in their opening match, Senegal have looked a better team when playing on the front foot in the subsequent wins over Qatar and Ecuador.
That perception is backed up data from their last 17 fixtures provided by analytics company Sporting Risk, which shows a side with poor counter-attacking and pressing metrics, so Cisse may face a quandary over how attacking to set up against England.
They are dangerous from crosses, ranking highly for goals from set-pieces, accurate crosses and accurate cut-backs, and tend to attack more down the left.
Equally, they may have a weakness in defending them, however, scoring poorly for making first contact when defending free-kicks and crosses, which Southgate could ask Luke Shaw and Kieran Trippier to test.
Likely line-up
Cisse favours a 4-3-3 or 4-2-3-1 and may opt for the former, more defensive option against England.
In front of Mendy, Koulibaly will likely marshall a back four containing defensive partner Abdou Diallo, Youssouf Sabaly and Ismail Jakobs.
Leicester’s Nampalys Mendy usually sits in front, but the suspension of Everton’s Idrissa Gueye means there are midfield places up for grabs.
Boulaye Dia is set to lead the line, supported by Watford’s Ismaila Sarr on the left and – with star man Sadio Mane injured – either Ndiaye or Krepin Diatta on the right.
Sporting Risk is a sports analytics company whose expertise lies in predictive analytics, forecasting and betting on football. The company leverages the predictive modelling of its data science team to generate outputs for the media, gaming and professional football sectors. www.sportingrisk.com