Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse knows what it will take for his troops to down Egypt when the two nations meet this evening (21:30) in the first leg of the final round of the 2022 World Cup qualifiers at the Cairo International Stadium.
The second leg will then take place four days later in Dakar on the 29th.
The encounter will be a repeat of the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (Afcon) final, where the Teranga Lions came out victorious on penalties.
‘We’re fully focused and well prepared,” said Cisse.
“A month has passed since we played the final of the Afcon, and it was enough time to improve some aspects. We strive to give our best, and we want to start the game tomorrow in the best way possible to achieve a good result.
“We know that we will play two finals to qualify for the World Cup, and I consider them to be three matches that started after we played the Afcon final because we knew that we would meet again.”
Cisse plans to “play smart football and avoid making mistakes.” He added: “We must, and we have to come out with a positive result that will help us in the second leg.
“We qualified with one goal in the group stage of the Africa Cup of Nations, and after that, we were able to score six-seven goals on the way to the final. We have no problem with our attack, and the players are able to change the course of the match.
“We are still hungry despite winning the final of the Africa Cup of Nations. The fact that we won the final against Egypt doesn’t mean we have no motives.”
