Senegal will do battle with England for a place in the 2022 FIFA World Cup quarterfinals at Al Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, Qatar on Sunday evening.
Kick-off is at 19h00GMT.
The Teranga Lions bounced back from an opening defeat to the Netherlands to finish runners-up thanks to successive wins from Qatar and Ecuador.
Senegal has conceded four goals in the tournament and looks capable of going to the last eight, even though their attack has yet to really click.
The Lions of Teranga assistant coach Regis Bogaert believes his charges will provide a better show in their fight for a place in the last eight.
“We know Senegal can beat England and that is what we are aiming for. The team has developed and become more mature. African teams are good enough to go toe-to-toe with any team. We are capable of beating anybody,” he said.
“Beating England will be huge. Our objective is to show we can play against the top five teams in the world,” added Bogaert.
England, meanwhile, advanced to the knockout stages after they emerged top in Group B as they collected seven points, beating Wales and Iran in the process.
Greth Southgate’s men conceded two goals and scored nine in the group that also had United States of America.
The Three Lions’ squad pedigree has seen England become one of the favorites to win the tournament in Qatar, but their coach has put it clear that they are not favorites coming into Sunday’s game.
“We’re prepared. We’ve had a process that we’ve followed,” Southgate said at his pre-match press conference.
“We’ve won two of three shootouts and looked at how we can improve. But of course, there are so many other aspects we have to get right.
“We’re aiming to win the game in 90 minutes and to avoid extra time and penalties. But if we need to go beyond that we have to be ready mentally and physically. I believe we are.”
This will be the first-ever senior international between England and Senegal. It will be the 13th time that England’s first-ever match against a nation has come in the World Cup.
The winner between Senegal and England will earn a spot in the quarterfinals, where they will face the winner between France and Poland.
