ENGLAND are certainly the favourites ahead of Sunday’s last-16 clash with Senegal, but the champions of Africa cannot be taken for granted.
There are some wonderfully talented footballers within the ranks of the Lions of Teranga.
Watford star Ismaila Sarr is the notable standout who previously aroused interest from both Manchester United and Liverpool, as well as Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly.
Senegal are without Sadio Mane, who picked up an injury to his right fibula prior to the tournament commencing and so was sent packing.
Nonetheless, manager Aliou Cisse has managed to rally his troops and make up for the blow.
Senegal will be ready for England and will be hungry to prove their worth by reaching the quarter-finals.
These two sides have never met before which will make for a highly interesting tactical battle between Gareth Southgate and Cisse.
We look at three key areas where this must-win game can be won or lost .
What can England expect from Senegal?
At the 2022 World Cup, the African nations have provided completely different styles of play which has made for a very refreshing watch in the modern era where teams have a tendency to lean towards very similar tactical blueprints surrounding ball-retention.
Tunisia have been excellent in transition while looking soak up pressure from the opposition.
Cameroon have been quite direct with their play, constantly attempting long balls and passes in behind the opposition’s backline.
Morocco have been superb in possession, looking to take the games to their opponents, similarly to Ghana.
However, Senegal have been a blend of every possible style.
In their three group games, Cisse’s men have showed an ability to keep the ball and work hard to break down the other side’s low block, as shown from their match against Qatar.
But they have also been highly adept at sitting deep and hitting teams on the break which was how they set up in the matches versus the Netherlands and Ecuador.
The latter looks to be Senegal’s preferred style of play which was hinted at by captain Koulibaly after the 2022 AFCON champions beat Ecuador on Tuesday.
The Chelsea defender said: “Senegal are better when they have their backs against the wall.
“We see real men and against Ecuador we saw real lions on the pitch.
“We knew they were a team that put a lot of aggression and intensity out there on the pitch.
“They wanted to hurt us, but we are used to that. We play in Africa. We are the African champions, and we are used to duels.”
Against England this weekend, viewers will likely see the same approach from Senegal on the pitch that was successful in the final group game.
Expect to see the Africans dropping back into a compact shape and denying Southgate’s men space between the lines.
Cisse has favoured using a 4-3-3 formation at the World Cup but when Senegal are out of possession, this drops into a condensed 4-4-2 with the wingers dropping back into the midfield.
This allows one of the central midfielders to push up as a secondary striker alongside Salernitana loanee Boulaye Dia.
Idrissa Gueye has performed this more advanced defensive role for Cisse so far in Qatar but with the Everton star out of this game through suspension, it will be interesting to see who takes his place.
One thing is for sure, they must have an abundance of energy.
Apart from facing Senegal for the first time ever, the Three Lions won’t be coming up against a tactical gameplan that they haven’t seen already at the tournament.
Iran, the USA and Wales all had the same approach in each fixture with differing levels of success and failure.
Gregg Berhalter and Rob Page both used a 4-4-2 out of possession, blocking off the centre of the pitch so that England couldn’t find their attacking players between the lines but there was one major difference in how the two nations executed their gameplans.
The USA were aggressive in their defensive work whilst the Welsh were painstakingly passive.
Whereas Wales were simply defending in a compact structure so to deny England a chance of progressing the ball through the lines, the USA were doing the same but were also hunting down the ball to turn possession over to their own hands.
Berhalter wanted his players to stay compact and refuse England the chance to play through their 4-4-2 block but instructed them to force Southgate’s team to play wide into pressing traps where the Americans would then look to be aggressive and win the ball back.
Senegal have done this extremely well and defend in an identical manner to the USA.
England struggled to cope at times with their opponent’s aggression which will certainly be an area that Cisse looks to exploit the European nation.
Quick counterattacks
One area that England need to be cautious is when Senegal win back the ball in their defensive shape.
Potentially the greatest threat that the Senegalese pose is in transition as they are rapid during counterattacking moments and can crumble even the best of defences.
Players like Sarr, Iliman Ndiaye, Bia and Bamba Dieng are lightning quick and can cause significant damage when given space to run in behind the opposition’s backline.
Keeping on the topic of Senegal forcing opponents wide into pressing traps, once possession is gained back, Cisse’s men break forward with pace and power.
The first pass is always forward by the Lions of Teranga.
When the ball is won, the attacking players split wide, looking to run into the channels of the defending side which can cause disorganisation and panic.
The flanks are where Senegal attack the most.
This is because the majority of teams, such as England, push their fullbacks really high up the pitch, leaving space beside the central defenders to be exploited.
During counterattacks, Senegal can isolate the centre-backs who are forced to come across before killing them with speed and dribbling prowess.
England need to be wary of these transitions.
Southgate likes to push his fullbacks high up the pitch and so this is an area where Senegal can hurt the Three Lions.
Kyle Walker started in the 3-0 victory over Wales despite Kieran Trippier getting the nod in the first two matches.
The Man City defender has exceptional recovery pace to get back in time alongside the centre-backs and so it is likely that Walker will be in the starting lineup once more.
Sarr, who is Senegal’s most dangerous attacking outlet during counterattacks, has been utilised on both the left and the right wing at the World Cup but with Walker and Shaw likely to feature in the first eleven, Southgate will have rapid players on both sides of the central defenders to deal with his threat.
Southgate’s attacking conundrum
England have scored nine goals in three matches thus far in Qatar.
Only Spain have matched this number in the tournament even though Southgate has often been labelled as a conservative coach, rightly or wrongly.
Nonetheless, while it may sound strange, the manager still hasn’t quite found his ideal forward line just yet.
In the opening match versus Iran, Raheem Sterling, Bukayo Saka and Harry Kane made up the front three.
This was unchanged in the second bout against the USA.
However, in the goalless draw, it was clear that this trio were ineffective against a well-drilled defensive block, offering little running in behind.
Only the skipper Kane survived in the final match of the group phase.
Marcus Rashford and Phil Foden were brought into the team and offered a greater blend of differing qualities going forward.
Rashford excels when attacking the space behind a backline while Foden is better at drifting inside and playing between the lines.
Unfortunately, in the first half, Foden was subpar because the Man City star was playing on the right as opposed to his favoured left-sided position.
Southgate rectified this in the second half with Foden pushing over to the left and the playmaker even scored after just a few minutes.
Rashford has been notoriously poor on the right for Manchester United, but the winger played well on Tuesday and bagged a beautiful solo goal down this side to score England’s third, sending Wales packing.
While Saka and Sterling have done well in the tournament so far, both getting themselves on the scoresheet against Iran with three overall, using Foden as a left-winger with Rashford on the opposite side supporting Kane up top may be the best trio for England right now.
Senegal will offer England plenty of space behind their defensive line once Southgate’s men can beat the African nation’s press.
Cisse’s side press really high up the pitch, looking to win the ball as close to the goal as possible but if opponents bypass this pressure, several players are taken out of the game which will allow Rashford and Foden to play to their strengths against an unprotected defence.
Foden can receive the ball to feet with plenty of room to turn and play forward while Rashford’s runs behind the backline can cause chaos among the Senegalese defenders.
So what does this all mean?
Tactically, this game will be an interesting matchup between two very contrasting styles.
Senegal will allow England to dominate the share of possession while pressing high up the pitch as well as sitting deep in a compact defensive block once this pressure is broken.
England are favourites but Senegal are fearless in the absence of Sadio Mane and will approach the game with full belief that they can progress to the quarter-finals.
If this World Cup has proven anything, it’s that goliath can put David to the sword and so England must be ready for the hungry Lions of Teranga.
For even more detailed analysis of all 32 teams in the FIFA World Cup 2022, download your copy of the November Total Football Analysis magazine here
