Senegal’s coach, Aliou Cisse, cited defensive errors and a gap in ability as the primary causes of their 3-0 loss to England at the World Cup’s round of 16 in Qatar.
Up until England scored twice just before halftime, the Teranga Lions—who were playing without injured striker Sadio Mane and suspended midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye—had a strong start and were the superior team.
Cisse, who was ill prior to the game, stated, “A match lasts 90 minutes, and in the first half we played very well and generated chances but, regrettably, we didn’t score.
“We have been striving for years to be the best in Africa, but when we faced one of the top five teams in the world, we could immediately tell the difference.
“We were playing a really good England squad, and we could see it in their physical toughness and challenges. We didn’t perform as well as we could have.