Finding the French team in the World Cup must revive certain treasures from Pape Thiaw’s past. Before his life as coach, the former striker participated in one of the greatest exploits in Senegal’s history in the competition. It was in 2002, when the Lions beat the Blues 1-0 before reaching the quarter-finals of the World Cup (Senegal had been beaten by Turkey). The times are completely different, the players too, but Pape Thiaw wants to dream of a new exploit for his country against one of the great favorites of the competition.
“It’s not an easy group, we were in hat 2 because we showed some good things. To go very far in competitions like this, you have to beat the big guys. It’s always nice to play against France. It’s a country that we know well. For me, it is my second country. 24 years later, we play against them again. In 2002, it was successful for usrecalls the Senegalese coach. It was historic but what is historic will not be present on the ground. We know the French team, we see them all the time. It will be a special match like in 2002, let’s hope to win it but it will not be an easy match. Group of death? I think that in the World Cup, there is no easy team, when you come across a team that has been champion, then vice-champion.»
This draw complicates life more for others than for France
As for Norway, which easily finished first in its qualifying group despite the presence of Italy (24 points out of 24), we refrain from any excess of confidence. “It’s a tough group. Everyone knows Franceindicated Norwegian coach Ståle Solbakken. Senegal is in great shape at the moment. We don’t know who our last opponent will be. The most important thing is that we are here and we need to be as prepared as possible. Our best players must be fit and we must have good preparation..
Erling Haaland also reacted on his Snapchat account by praising the quality of his two future opponents: “France and Senegal will be formidable adversaries. » Renowned national sports commentator Petter Veland added: “my first impression is that it looks rather difficult. If you were hoping to find the easiest group, you might be disappointed. But it could have been worse”he confided in comments reported by Dagbladet. You will have understood, the pressure is more on the side of the opponents, than on France.
