« La meilleure équipe d'Europe » : Pape Thiaw désigne l'adversaire le plus dangereux des Lions
Just over two months before the World Cup, Senegal's coach, Pape Thiaw, offered a surprising analysis on Monday. While acknowledging the strength of the French team, he believes he has found a squad even more impressive than Kylian Mbappé's.
After the fantastic celebration with the Senegalese diaspora last Saturday at the Stade de France, the Lions are back home to connect with their fans. On the eve of their second friendly match in March against Gambia, Pape Thiaw faced the press. And while Les Bleus displayed a very strong performance during their American tour against Brazil (2-1) and Colombia (3-1), the Senegalese coach is clearly more wary of another opponent in Group I.
"For me, they are the best European team."
“The Norwegian team needs no introduction, especially with the players they have on the international stage today,” Pape Thiaw asserted. When asked about the summer tournament (June 11 - July 19), he added: “They are an excellent team. For me, right now, they are even the best team in Europe. They are showing some very good things, even though they lost their last match without their two stars.”
Senegal will begin their World Cup campaign against France on June 16 at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, before facing Norway. Sadio Mané and his teammates will conclude the group stage against the winner of the intercontinental playoff between Iraq and Bolivia. "We will prepare well. There are four matches left before playing Norway: Gambia tomorrow, then the United States, Saudi Arabia, and finally France. We will have time to study them thoroughly," the coach stated.
When pressed about Kylian Mbappé's comment on Sunday, in which he stated he expected a fierce battle against Senegal, Pape Thiaw adopted a more measured tone: "Kylian is a truly great player. When he speaks, people listen. He knows football and expresses himself very well. I'm hearing about this statement now, which is flattering. But we're going to the World Cup to make our mark, not just to play against France."
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