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The English hinge against the Senegalese speed

Main question mark before the World Cup, the English defense held up particularly well during the first round, with a Harry Maguire who dispelled all the fears surrounding him.

The reaction of Gareth Southgate who railed against the two goals conceded in the first match against Iran, despite the offensive demonstration (6-2) of his team, had surprised or even amused the observers.

Harry Maguire (front) during the match against Wales on November 29, 2022 in Al-Rayyan, Qatar.

The England centre-back used the first-round matches to allay fears surrounding his level of performance © NICOLAS TUCAT / AFP/Archives

But, even if the goals had arrived when the outcome was already certain, the coach knows perfectly well that without an irreproachable defense, England would never have chained semi-finals at the World Cup in Russia four years ago and final in the Euro last year.

Having conceded nothing to the United States (0-0) or Wales (3-0) afterwards, it is however a slightly different challenge that awaits the Three Lions with the Senegalese who, even deprived of Sadio Mané , will add a lot of speed to the physical challenge already present in previous matches.

But velocity is the area in which the Stones-Maguire hinge, aligned so far, seems the most vulnerable and this is a challenge that could be renewed in the event of a quarter-final against France, which the table makes possible.

Southgate could be tempted to start Kyle Walker, their fastest player, either as a full-back or as part of a switch to a central three defence.

Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaïla Sarr, the two main Senegalese arrows, are in any case far from being unknown to the English, since they play in English D2, respectively at Sheffield United and Watford.

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The English "snipers" facing the Koulibaly / Mendy monsters

With 9 goals scored in three games, England have the best attack of the tournament with Spain and for the defense of Senegal, which has taken goals in every game, even against Qatar (3-1), the stake will be to slow it down, if not muzzle it.

With Marcus Rashford, co-top scorer of the tournament with three goals, Bukayo Saka, author of a double against Iran, Raheem Sterling, Jude Bellingham, Phil Foden or Jack Grealish who also found the net, the danger can come from everywhere and even from the bench at the end of the match.

And we should not hope that Harry Kane, top scorer of the last World Cup (6 goals) and best passer of the current edition with three offerings, remains silent for very long.

Yet Senegal seems to be gaining strength defensively and the leaders are, again, well known to the English, since they are two Chelsea players, Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy.

Kalidou Koulibaly after scoring the qualifying goal against Ecuador on November 29, 2022 in Doha © Raul ARBOLEDA / AFP/Archives

Against Ecuador, for the third pool match, Koulibaly was simply monstrous defensively and he even offered qualification (2-1), going up on a set piece.

And in goal, Mendy seems to have regained the level that made him Fifa's best goalkeeper in 2021, after several months of uneven performances, which saw him lose his starting spot with the Blues.

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Real Lions in competition

If this very first England-Senegal in history is very unbalanced in terms of experience (Senegal only reached the quarter-finals of a World Cup once, which England knew in nine times), Senegal has proven time and time again that it knows how to respond to major events.

For their very first meeting in the competition, in 2002, they beat the reigning world champions France (1-0), before resisting Uruguay and Denmark in the first round.

In the eighth, they had taken out Sweden in overtime before falling against Turkey (1-0) on the golden goal.

In 2022, the double victory against Egypt, in the CAN final in February for the country's very first continental title and then in the qualifying round for the World Cup, both times on penalties, showed that the nerves are solid.

But they will face them from the English who are never as good as in the final phase since they are trained by Gareth Southgate.

England coach Gareth Southgate after the Euro final lost on penalties against Italy on July 11, 2021 at Wembley.

The Three Lions' recent past shows that they don't lack much to go all the way and join their glorious predecessors in 1966 © Paul ELLIS / POOL/AFP/Archives

He recently brought to ten the record for the number of successes in a World Cup or a Euro for an English coach and the narrow defeats against Croatia in the semi-finals four years ago (2-1 after extra time) or on penalties. goal against Italy in the final of the Euro, show that his team does not lack much to go to the end.

And join in the legend the team of 1966.

© 2022 AFP