World Cup 2022: England, growing playground for the Senegalese
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and Lions captain Kalidou Koulibaly both play for English club Chelsea.
REUTERS - Amr Abdallah Dalsh
Text by: David Kalfa Follow
3 mins
England and Senegal meet in the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup on December 4 in Al Khor.
A somewhat special match for half of the Senegalese present in Qatar: they played or still play in an English club.
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From our Special Envoy in Doha,
26 years ago almost to the day, a Senegalese fooled the world of British football.
Using a doctored CV, Ali Dia was indeed hired by Southampton and then became the first Lion to play a match in the English Championship (Premier League), on November 23, 1996. The Dakarois had however been replaced after a few minutes of play.
Luckily for both countries, Premier League outfits didn't stop at this bluff.
Especially after the triumphant 2002 World Cup (quarter-final) of the Senegalese selection.
England is now the most represented country (10) in Aliou Cissé's group, as was already the case at the 2018 World Cup.
“
The English championship is hyper competitive
”
Does this mean that France now attracts less than the Premier League and its lower divisions?
“
Some players who play in France sometimes dream of going to England
, underlines Régis Bogaert, assistant coach of the Lions, on the eve of the round of 16 of the 2022 World Cup.
We know that it is an extremely attractive championship
”.
Goalkeeper Alfred Gomis, who has spent almost his entire career in Italy before landing in the French championship, goes in the same direction as Régis Bogaert: “
It's a championship that is hyper competitive.
Their selection too, with very powerful players at world level.
But the Senegalese selection, it remains Senegalese, before being Francophile or Anglophile
.
»
“
The Senegalese have truly enriched our football
”
In the end, only about fifteen Senegalese wear the colors of one of the formations of the first, second or third English division.
We are therefore still far from the mass phenomenon.
However, their contribution has not escaped the current opposition coach, Gareth Southgate.
"
It's true that we have had a good number of Senegalese players in recent years, from Patrick Vieira [1] to El Hadji Diouf and of course their current coach
", he underlines, referring in particular to the passages of Aliou Cissé in Birmingham and Portsmouth.
“Some are in the Championship [the second division, Editor's note] but most are in the Premier League.
They have truly enriched our football
, ”adds the ex-defender, at a press conference.
If there was not a single player from Senegal playing across the Channel during the World Cup, in Japan and South Korea, half of those present in Qatar have walked (or still walk) on English lawns, on a daily basis.
Captain Harry Kane particularly respects the two current Chelsea residents, Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly.
“
They are two excellent players and they have proven it on the international scene and with their clubs in recent seasons.
Of course, they represent a major force for this Senegalese selection.
But they still have many other threats and excellent players in reserve and their main asset is their solidarity.
It is also what allowed them to become African champions, to qualify for the World Cup and to cross the group stage of this World Cup.
“Slips the center forward, who also slipped a compliment to his partner at Tottenham, Pape Matar Sarr.
Reunion this December 4 in Al Khor, for a place in the quarter-finals of this Qatari World Cup.
[1] Patrick Vieira was born in Senegal, but played for the France team.
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