Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse has backed Africa to lift a FIFA World Cup and opened up on the absence of Sadio Mané.
The Teranga Lions need beat Ecuador in their final Group A game to become the first African nation to qualify for the knockout stages since 2014.
After beating the host nation Qatar 3-1 on Friday he stated that he’s confident the continent can rise on the biggest stage.
“Yes, an African country can win the World Cup, and I hope that it will be Senegal,” he said, as per AFP.
“All the teams who are competing at this World Cup are teams who are worthy of being here.
“It’s not like 30 or 35 years ago where the big fish were completely eating the smaller teams alive.”
Cisse, who was part of the Senegal squad that reached the quarter-final in the 2002 edition in South Korea and Japan also opened up on the loss of attacking talisman Mané.
“It’s very difficult to replace a high-calibre player such as Sadio Mane but football is a team sport,” he added.
“Any coach wants the team to be playing well together and we were very patient. Sadio is Sadio and he’s a great player.”
The African champions face off against Ecuador in their final Group A game on Tuesday at the Khalifa International Stadium (17h00).
