A place in the FIFA World Cup 2022 quarter-finals will be on the line when England and Senegal face off at the Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday.
The group stage of the FIFA World Cup 2022 has culminated, and the Round of 16 kicked off on Saturday. Two games will be on show on Sunday, with the action on the day ending at the Al Bayt Stadium, where England and Senegal will lock horns, vying for a place in the quarter-finals.
England seemed to have earned a favourable draw after qualifying for the FIFA World Cup 2022. And the Three Lions did well to top Group B, with the only blip coming against the USA in a 0-0 draw. But Gareth Southgate’s men made light work of Iran and Wales to reach the Round of 16.
On the other hand, Senegal took the scenic route to the knockout stages. The Lions of Teranga started with a 2-0 defeat that flattered the Netherlands. But wins over Qatar and Ecuador helped Aliou Cisse’s men secure the runners-up berth in Group A, just as we had predicted in our pre-World Cup preview.
England and Senegal will face off against each other for the very first time on Sunday. And ahead of the maiden meeting between the two sides, The Hard Tackle takes a closer look at the FIFA World Cup 2022 encounter.
Team News & Tactics
England
All 25 #ThreeLions players are taking part in our final training session before the last-16 tie against Senegal.@HKane will join Gareth Southgate for our pre-match media conference later today. pic.twitter.com/VrNuMfhKc5
— England (@England) December 3, 2022
Gareth Southgate does not have any new injury concerns hampering his preparations ahead of the game against Senegal. The England head coach will have a full-strength squad at his disposal on Sunday.
Jordan Pickford is an automatic selection between the sticks. And England will line up in a 4-2-3-1 formation in front of him. The backline picks itself, with John Stones and Harry Maguire forming the central defensive partnership. Kyle Walker and Luke Shaw should feature as the full-backs. The selection dilemma begins for Southgate when we move into the midfield and attack.
Jordan Henderson looked decent against Wales. But starting the 32-year-old will mean England will start without one attacking body. So Declan Rice and Jude Bellingham will feature in the double pivot, freeing up a player to reprise the no. 10 role.
Bukayo Saka and Raheem Sterling are the first-choice wide attackers for England. But Phil Foden and Marcus Rashford’s performances will have given Southgate some food for thought. And Sterling might miss out after a few unconvincing performances at this World Cup.
In addition, adopting the 4-2-3-1 formation might allow Southgate to accommodate Foden, Saka, and Rashford. Saka and Rashford will start as the wide attackers, with Foden reprising the no. 10 role. Finally, captain Harry Kane will spearhead the attack for England against Senegal.
Probable Lineup (4-2-3-1): Pickford; Walker, Stones, Maguire, Shaw; Bellingham, Rice; Saka, Foden, Rashford; Kane
Senegal
Unlike his counterpart in the England dugout, Aliou Cisse has one fitness issue to contend with ahead of the trip to the Al Bayt Stadium. The Senegal head coach could be without two players on Sunday.
Idrissa Gueye will miss the match due to a suspension after picking up his second booking of the tournament against Ecuador. In addition, Cheikhou Kouyate might be unavailable to take on England due to an ankle injury, although he has resumed training.
Cheikhou Kouyaté a repris la course avec le sourire. #TeamSenegal pic.twitter.com/q3lCFj0TJx
— FSF (@Fsfofficielle) December 3, 2022
So Senegal should shift into a 4-3-3 formation, with Nampalys Mendy returning to the starting eleven. The 30-year-old will sit at the base of the midfield unit, with Pathe Ciss and Pape Gueye lining up alongside him in the middle of the park. The trio will form a defensive-minded midfield unit.
Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly will look to marshall the backline and keep things tight in the defensive third. Koulibaly will have Abdou Diallo as his central defensive partner, with Youssouf Sabaly and Ismail Jakobs being the two full-backs. Edouard Mendy will take his usual place between the sticks.
Boulaye Dia should spearhead the attack for Senegal against England, with Iliman Ndiaye and Ismaila Sarr being the two wide attackers. Sarr has been the go-to player in the final third for Cisse in Sadio Mane’s absence and should be the danger man for his side on Sunday.
Probable Lineup (4-3-3): Edouard Mendy; Sabaly, Koulibaly, Diallo, Jakobs; Pape Gueye, Nampalys Mendy, Ciss; Ndiaye, Dia, Sarr
Key Stats
- Sunday’s clash will be England and Senegal’s first-ever senior international meeting. It will be the 13th time that England’s first-ever match against a nation has come in the World Cup. And the Three Lions have lost just one of the previous 12 such games (W7 D4), a 0-1 defeat to the USA in 1950.
- Senegal have alternated between winning (3) and not winning (D1 L2) in their six World Cup meetings with European opponents. They lost 2-0 to the Netherlands in their most recent such game.
- England have never lost in seven previous World Cup matches against African opposition (W4 D3). Their only such outing in the knockout stages came against Cameroon in the 1990 quarter-final, winning 3-2 after extra time, with their goals coming from David Platt and two Gary Lineker penalties.
- African nations have lost eight of their nine World Cup knockout round games against European sides, except Senegal’s 2-1 win over Sweden in the Round of 16 in 2002. However, in all competitions, England have never lost against an African side (W14 D6).
- Since beating France 1-0 in their first-ever World Cup match in 2002, Senegal have conceded at least once in their last ten games in the competition.
Player to Watch
Harry Kane
Kane usually leads by example by scoring goals in almost every game when he takes the pitch for England. But the 29-year-old has not had his scoring boots on and is yet to find the back of the net at the FIFA World Cup 2022. But the England captain has still made his mark, providing three assists thus far.
His three assists in the group stages made him the first England player to provide as many in a single World Cup edition since David Beckham in 2002. No Englishman has ever made four on record in a single edition of a major tournament before (EURO and World Cup, since 1966). But Gareth Southgate will need Kane to get his scoring form again at a crucial phase of the World Cup.
Prediction
England 2-1 Senegal
Senegal keeping a clean sheet in a World Cup game is as rare as the sighting of a blue moon. So England should be in business on Sunday at the Al Bayt Stadium. And it will not be surprising if Harry Kane finally breaks his duck at the FIFA World Cup 2022 by finding the back of the net.
But the Lions of Teranga have shown they can give the best teams a run for their money. And Aliou Cisse’s men should thus take the game to England, although they might fall just short in this game. The Hard Tackle predicts a largely evenly-contested affair which should end in a 2-1 England win. And the Three Lions will then face the winner of the game between France and Poland.
