England manager Gareth Southgate has told talkSPORT that his side must “seize their opportunities” against Senegal.
The Three Lions manager also compared his last 16 opponents to his fellow American from Group B, as he listed the type of threat the Terenga Lions offered.
AFP
Southgate praised Senegal’s style of play
England qualified from the group stage with a 3-0 victory over national rivals Wales, while Senegal beat Ecuador and host Qatar to advance from Group A.
The Three Lions have posted the best record of any other country since the first leg of the 2022 World Cup.
However, Southgate doesn’t see the clash against the West Africans as an easy task as he explained the forces with which they could punish his team – even without Bayern Munich’s Sadio Mane.
Speaking to talkSPORT England correspondent Faye Carruthers on the eve of his side’s clash, Southgate said: “Well they are direct.
“Not only do they counter-attack quickly, but when in possession they look to play forward.
“They have good, fast forwards and their midfielders are athletic and get the ball going very quickly.
Southgate does not underestimate the quality of Senegal
“So the profile of the team is very clear and I think they are very well organized defensively.”
Southgate also believes the AFCON 2022 winners possess similar qualities to other US Round of 16 qualifiers, which also held the Three Lions to a 0-0 draw in Group B game two.
And he thinks that ultimately England will have to capitalize on the chances they get in the draw to avoid a surprise, especially those from set pieces.
“They also have good athletes, much like the United States [able to] cover spaces,” Southgate said.
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Rashford netted his free-kick against Wales but England didn’t produce as many set pieces as they usually do in major tournaments
“We’re going to have to use the ball very well and make sure that when we have opportunities to progress, we take those opportunities as well.”
He continued: “Well stopped plays are always very important, we haven’t been as smug as we would have liked on those in the tournament so far.”
England’s clash against Senegal is on Sunday at 7pm, which you can listen to live on talkSPORT.
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