El Hadji Diouf has accused England of believing they have got already crushed Senegal and warned that would result in every other well-known World Cup victory for his nation.
Diouf, who used to be a part of the Senegal workforce that defeated France on the 2002 event, is an assistant trainer with the squad making ready to fulfill England in Sunday’s last-16 tie in Qatar. He used to be complimentary about Gareth Southgate’s aspect however feels they’re responsible of complacency.
“I never say Senegal can’t win,” mentioned the previous Liverpool ahead. “It reminds me of when we play against France: they win the game before they play it and I think England today do the same thing, which is good for us.
“We don’t have anything to show the world. If you see our squad, we have Édouard Mendy, we have Kalidou Koulibaly [both Chelsea]We have a lot of good players in England. Some play in the Championship but they are really Premier League players, like Ismaïla Sarr [Watford], It’s for them to show how good they are in this game.
“It is a wonderful draw – who would not want to play this game? The players are excited. Talking to the boys it’s about big games, big players, they have to show how good they are. And definitely, this game is going to be very exciting because England have a good team, good players. I know we are not the favorites but we are going to do everything to beat them and the players can do it.
Diouf stated the pressure was all on Southgate’s men. “Definitely yes. England has to [win] but we have to show them that the game is not finished before we play. These boys are ready. They work hard in training, we have a good spirit and just need to keep going.”
Diouf, whose former clubs also include Bolton, Leeds, Sunderland and Blackburn, believes England have changed their approach. “They all copy – the national team as well – Pep Guardiola and Man City. They play the same way: they want the ball and score a lot of goals and play tiki-taka.
,[The] players can do it as well, they have a good team and a very good team spirit. It’s not like the Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard time – the two of them don’t like each other – it’s about team spirit and Gareth Southgate did a great job.”
Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations on penalties in February and Diouf is confident they can beat England the same way if required. “We are at all times going to win on consequences,” he said. “If we get to penalties we’re going to win it. Easy. I know the goalkeeper we’ve got [Mendy] and I know we can stop some of their penalties.”