Senegal head coach, Aliou Cisse, could miss the Teranga Lions’ round of 16 World Cup clash with England through illness, talkSPORT reports.
Cisse was absent for his press conference ahead of Sunday’s knockout tie, with his assistant, Regis Bogaert, instead taking media duties.
Bogaert said Cisse has been unwell for a number of days, and hasn’t been able to take training ahead of the match against the Three Lions.
“He has been sick for a couple of days now,” said Bogaert.
“He let us take charge of training yesterday, obviously with his instructions to the players.
“Hopefully he will be able to come and be on the bench with the players but we are sure at 10pm he will be there with the team.
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“I can confirm he is sick and has a bit of a temperature, that is why we have to be careful with his situation.”
Cisse, who was appointed head coach of Senegal in 2015, guided the side to their second Africa Cup of Nations final in 2019, before winning the tournament earlier in 2022 in Cameroon.
But despite his possible absence, ‘Lions of Teranga’ are still feeling positive.
“We are feeling calm and confident,” Bogaert said. “We know that Senegal can beat England, that is what we are aiming for.
“I think we will get more excited as the match gets closer but you have to remain calm and focused on the objective – and our objective is obviously to get to the next round.
“Four years ago we went through that experience but the team has grown, we lost and won an [AFCON] final and the team is developing and becoming more mature.
“That maturity is very important at international level, African teams need to be ambitious and they are good enough to go head-to-head, eye-to-eye with anybody and we are capable of beating anyone.
“When we go out on the pitch we have to be aware of that. The more you play in top clubs around the world, the more you will mature and become top-notch players and that is what we are seeing now.
“I hope that the English are going to underestimate us and we will surprise them, that is what we are looking for.”
Senegal will be hoping to become the first-ever African country to beat England.
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COMMENTS
No mane, no Cisse, their chief coach. What a luck. If they lose to England, people in West Africa will understand.