Yekaterinburg: Senegal face Japan here Sunday at the World Cup fired up by an ‘ignorant’ tweet by a British tycoon and reality television star that has become the talk of the team.
After battling to a 2-1 opening win over Poland in Group H, Aliou Cisse’s Senegal can take a major step towards the last 16 with victory over Japan in Yekaterinburg.
They team unwittingly found themselves at the centre of a Twitter storm this week after businessman Alan Sugar tweeted a picture of the Senegal team with the caption, “I recognise some of these guys from the beach in Marbella.” Alongside the picture, the billionaire Briton posted images of sunglasses and handbags for sale.
The apprentice presenter took down the post and later apologised after being accused of racism, but the incident angered Senegal and could serve to further inspire them against Japan.
Livewire forward Sadio Mane is Senegal’s prime dangerman, but it was the raw pace and power of Mbaye Niang that troubled Polish defence the most.
Cisse and his men are now dreaming of a repeat of their run to the quarterfinals in 2002 – he captained that team. “Of course we represent our country but I can also guarantee that the whole of Africa is supporting us,” said Cisse, the only black coach at the World Cup.
But Japan, after their 2-1 win over Colombia will not be pushovers. Japan’s attacking midfielder Keisuke Honda said Friday they were wary of Senegal – but could also see a major weakness.
“It’s going to be tough, they have great players,” Honda stated. “But African teams cannot play perfectly for 90 minutes. African players lack concentration, particularly in the second half.”