World Cup 2022: fatalistic Senegalese but proud of their year
The Senegalese, eliminated from the 2022 World Cup by England.
REUTERS - KAI PFAFFENBACH
Text by: David Kalfa Follow
3 mins
The Senegalese of 2022 will not do as well as those of 2002, quarter-finalists of the World Cup.
The Lions leave Qatar with a 3-0 defeat against an England team they consider very strong.
Too strong in any case for a Senegal deprived of several executive players, such as Sadio Mané, Idrissa Gana Gueye or Cheikhou Kouyaté.
This is why they draw a positive balance from their participation in this World Cup and more generally from their year.
Advertising
Read more
From our special correspondent in Al Khor,
“
We leave with our heads held high.
And I hope we'll be back in four years.
Resigned look but calm voice, Abdou Diallo, defender of the Senegal team, tries a hot analysis of the elimination of the Lions in the round of 16 of the
2022 World Cup
, this December 4, after
a 3-0 loss against England
.
“
We lacked realism in the two penalty areas.
And afterwards, we were punished
, sighs the resident of RB Leipzig (Germany).
I think the English were a step above us, in general
.
A feeling shared by Edouard Mendy.
The goalkeeper had to go get the ball three times in the back of his net.
"
Even if they had possession of the ball, we competed for more than thirty minutes with the English
," said the goalkeeper of Chelsea (England).
And after that, it's the very, very high level.
There was an opposing team that was on top.
It's just a shame that we were punished twice for losing the ball
.
His partner and captain, Kalidou Koulibaly, grimaces: “
It's especially the final score that is a bit hard to swallow.
But we played against a team that is part of the top 5 in the world.
»
“We must not throw everything away with this elimination”
What's more by being diminished for this round of 16.
“
We lacked a lot of experienced players like Sadio Mané and Bouna Sarr
[forfaits pour le Mondial, Ndlr]
, Idrissa Gana Gueye who was suspended and Cheikou Kouyaté who was injured.
It's still a lot
, ”recalls Koulibaly.
Mendy feels the same way.
“
We are full of ambition, we are African champions and we therefore want to show what we are capable of.
But we had to deal with several absences.
So, at some point, if we want to compete with the best teams and they have all their players, it's complicated to do so
, ”says the doorman.
So many reasons, for the three innkeepers, not to let themselves be defeated.
“
There is a new generation coming.
We have four or five players under 22.
It was a good experience for them and for us
,” said Abdou Diallo.
“
We must not throw everything away with this elimination
, claims Edouard Mendy.
2022 is a more than memorable year for Senegal.
We made the Senegalese proud, whether with the victory at CAN 2021, with the play-off against Egypt in our new stadium, or with this group stage where, after our defeat in the first match, everyone saw us out.
We responded every time
.”
Koulibaly concludes:
We would have liked to achieve the feat by going to the quarter-finals of this World Cup and playing a good match against France.
But the level of this England team was really high.
»
Newsletter
Receive all the international news directly in your mailbox
I subscribe
Follow all the international news by downloading the RFI application
Soccer
World Cup 2022
Sports
Senegal