Aliou Cisse refused to be drawn on whether he is managing the best Senegal team in history, insisting the Africa Cup of Nations holders will be brought back down to earth if they lose to Ivory Coast in the last 16 on Monday.

Senegal lifted the trophy for the first time in 2021 under the stewardship of Cisse and topped Group C this time around with three wins from as many matches.

They face Ivory Coast for a place in the quarter-finals, with the hosts limping through to the knockout rounds as one of the best third-placed teams.

Cisse has an experienced squad of players and boasts the likes of Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson, Pape Matar Sarr of Tottenham and captain Kalidou Koulibaly.

Asked if he was overseeing the best Senegal side of all time, Cisse replied: “It’s hard to say.

“I don’t like talking about myself. Others can talk about us and what we are doing.

“Now is not the time to take stock because we are in the middle of competition. What matters to us is tomorrow’s match because, if unfortunately it goes badly, we will come back to earth again.”

Cisse, though, was happier to discuss how well his team have taken to their defence of the trophy.

“Our team is going through a good period after three matches, where we achieved good results in the group stage, and I am satisfied with it,” he added.

“We will play a very difficult match. If we win, we will continue the adventure, and if we lose, we will return home.

“We qualified with nine points and the opponent with three points, this does not matter. Now a new competition has begun. Ivory Coast remains a major team in Africa, they have good players.

“The defeat in their last two matches remain just an accident, they will show another performance in front of their fans.”

Cameroon striker Georges-Kevin Nkoudou believes his side have the “weapons” to get the better of defending champions Senegal in their Africa Cup of Nations clash.

Senegal got their title defence off to an ideal start with a 3-0 win over Gambia, while Cameroon had to come from behind to secure a 1-1 draw against 10-man Guinea in Group C.

However, Nkoudou remains in a confident mood ahead of Friday’s eagerly anticipated clash between the Indomitable Lions and the Teranga Lions at the Charles Konan Banny stadium in Yamoussoukro.

“It’s true that Senegal is the favourite, but as I always say we must never bury Cameroon, we remain a great team and a great nation,” Nkoudou said.

“They started this tournament with a very good victory against Gambia. For our part, we had a good match but unfortunately we only got one point.

“We have to put this behind us for now and focus on our match against Senegal which will be very difficult for both teams. I think we have all the weapons necessary to be able to put them in a more difficult position.”

Senegal can advance to the last 16 with a game to spare if they can make it two wins out of two, but head coach Aliou Cisse expects a reaction from Cameroon following their disappointing draw with Guinea.

“It was important to enter the competition with a victory, which encourages the players,” Cisse said.

“We are ready for the second match against a strong team, and we have prepared well for it. We know Cameroon well and it is a strong African team.

“Cameroon remains Cameroon. Our match against them is not revenge. Cameroon have already won many continental titles and we are going to face a team motivated to make up for the result they got in the first match.

“We have a competitive group and all players can participate, it doesn’t matter who starts the match, the most important thing is the performance provided.

“Our team does not suffer from a lack of efficiency and we scored three goals in the first match.”

Senegal are hoping coach Aliou Cisse will clamber off his sick bed to lead the team against England.

Cisse has been ill the last two days, and failed to take training on Friday as a result.

His assistant Regis Bogaert faced the press ahead of the World Cup last-16 clash but remains confident Cisse will be on the bench at Al Bayt Stadium on Sunday.

He said: "He's been sick for a couple of days now and he let us [the staff] take charge of training yesterday, with his instructions.

"We are sure that at 10pm tomorrow, he will be there."

Senegal are African champions and edged out Ecuador to secure qualification from Group A and underline their growing reputation on the world stage.

Bogaert added: "We know Senegal can beat England. We need to focus on our African identity and be positive with the experiences we are having at the moment.

"Since the last World Cup, we have matured. We can beat anybody and when we go on the pitch we need to be convinced of that.

"Our objective is to get through. We're not too excited and trying to ensure we stay as calm as possible."

Senegal's finest moment at the World Cup came 20 years ago with a 1-0 win over France in the opening game of the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea.

Asked how beating England would compare, Bogaert said: "It would be a tremendous achievement, although I am not sure how it would compare to the win in 2002.

"For the players, it would show them that we are capable of playing one of the top five sides in the world. If we can beat a team like that it sends a very strong message of the progress we have made."

Bogaert believes set-pieces could be key on Sunday and is hoping it is an area they can use to spring a major surprise.

"We have studied the different types of set plays they employ and we will try to adopt the best possible strategy," he said.

"We have identified some things and set-pieces can be decisive. We hope to take advantage of them and cause problems for our opponent."

Aliou Cisse paid tribute to the absent Sadio Mane after Senegal booked their World Cup last-16 spot with a 2-1 win over Ecuador on Tuesday.

The Lions of Teranga leapfrogged their opponents into second in Group A as goals from Ismaila Sarr and Kalidou Koulibaly sealed their progression to the knockout stage for the first time since 2002.

The result also saw Senegal become the first African nation to beat a South American side at the World Cup since Cameroon overcame Colombia in 1990, ending a 21-game winless run.

Senegal's talisman Mane was ruled out of Qatar 2022 after suffering a leg injury for Bayern Munich in the build-up to the tournament, but Cisse's thoughts quickly turned to the forward in the aftermath of his side's huge win. 

"I would like to dedicate this victory to a man who is doing extraordinary things for the country, who is unfortunately not here today. This man is called Sadio Mane," he said.

Senegal face the winner of Group B on Sunday, and Cisse says his side will be well-prepared for any opponent.

"We don't know who we're going to come up against in the round of 16 – it could be England, it could be Wales, Iran, USA, anyone," Cisse added.

"Then that will be a new stage for us. We know that we are moving to the knockout stage, which is completely different from what we are used to playing in these types of [group] matches.

"Everyone is a good team, the best teams in the world that are competing. Therefore, we need to be prepared to come up against any side.

"It is now a win or lose situation, there are no second chances – if you win, you go through, if you lose, you go home.

"So for the moment, we are just going to concentrate on resting and getting fit for the next game, it is simple as that."

Ecuador head coach Gustavo Alfaro lamented the fine margins that saw his side miss out on the last 16 and confirmed he needs some time to decide whether he will remain in the job.

"The margin of error was meagre and small details made the difference," he said after seeing Moises Caicedo's second-half equaliser followed by Koulibaly's winner just moments later.

"We made key mistakes in the game. The pain of this defeat does not need to overshadow the achievements of this side, and we hope the experience serves them well in the future."

Asked about his own position, the Argentine added: "I need time to know what I am going to do with my professional career."

African teams should be confident of going far in the World Cup, and even winning the tournament, according to Senegal boss Aliou Cisse.

Senegal beat hosts Qatar 3-1 on Friday to get their first points on the board in Group A.

The Africa Cup of Nations winners lost star player Sadio Mane to injury before the start of the World Cup, and were unable to put away their chances in an opening loss against the Netherlands.

But Cisse believes his team, as well as other African sides in action in the Middle East – Cameroon, Ghana, Morocco and Tunisia – should have faith they can challenge the top nations.

Cisse pointed to the shock wins for Japan and Saudi Arabia, over Germany and Argentina respectively, as evidence to support his claim.

"Just look at how the World Cup is unfolding, with a lot of surprises," Cisse said.

"We've seen David bring down Goliath. Japan beat Germany, Saudi Arabia beat Argentina – anything is possible.

"All teams competing are worthy of being here. It's not like 30 years ago where the big fish were completely neutralising the smaller teams.

"I think it will be a World Cup full of surprises. Yes, an African country can win the World Cup, and I hope that country is Senegal!"

With their win over Qatar, Senegal became the first African side to beat the host nation at a World Cup; all of the previous four instances of an African side facing the hosts had seen them lose by an aggregate 12-2 score.

Cisse had called on his forwards to improve after the defeat to the Dutch. Boulaye Dia, Famara Diedhiou and Bamba Dieng answered their coach's call.

"Yes, we understood the message loud and clear," said Dia, when asked by Stats Perform if he felt the Senegal forwards had done what was asked of them.

"We were not efficient against the Netherlands. We had lots of scoring chances, we should have put some away.

"The coach honed in on this: efficiency, efficiency, efficiency. We need to get in front of the goal and create those chances.

"We're all very happy, all of the forwards able to score – happy days!"

Senegal's forwards need to step up in Sadio Mane's absence if the Lions of Teranga are going to progress in the World Cup, says Aliou Cisse.

Bayern Munich forward Mane was ruled out of the tournament after suffering a fibula injury.

The former Liverpool star is Senegal's talisman, and was crucial to their Africa Cup of Nations success earlier in 2022.

In his absence, Senegal turned in a spirited display against the Netherlands in their opening Group A game on Monday, yet fell to a 2-0 defeat.

This was despite mustering a higher expected goals (xG) total than their opponents (0.9 to 0.7) and having more shots (15 to 10).

With hosts Qatar next up at Al Thumama Stadium, head coach Cisse has demanded more from his forwards, particularly Ismaila Sarr and Diatta.

Cisse said: "We are disappointed, we had two or three very good chances [against the Netherlands]. 

"We needed to be more effective. Ismaila and Krepin are responsible there, but of course, the absence of Mane is a problem for us. Our attackers are good and we know what they are capable of.

"We need to work on it, with Ismaila and the others. We expect a lot from him and Krepin."

Qatar also suffered a 2-0 defeat in their opening match, going down to Ecuador. 

They did not register a shot on target in that match. Since 1966, the only side to fail to land a single shot on target in consecutive World Cup games is the United States, doing so against the Czech Republic and Italy in the 2006 edition.

"There's no excuse, we want to congratulate our opponents, they deserved to win," said coach Felix Sanchez.

"There is a lot of room for improvement. Maybe the responsibility and nerves got the best of us. We didn't start well. It was a terrible start."

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Qatar – Akram Afif

Qatar failed to deliver in the tournament opener, but in Akram Afif they have a quality forward who could turn the game in their favour.

Afif created only one chance against Ecuador, and Qatar need to find a way to get him into the game more this time out.

Senegal – Ismaila Sarr

Sarr had more shots (three) and created more chances (four) than any other Senegal player against the Netherlands, with the Watford attacker involved in 47 per cent of their total attempts in the match (7/15).

With his coach's words no doubt ringing in his ears, Sarr will be determined to prove he can cut it in Mane's absence.

PREDICTION

Senegal are the favourites for this one, according to Opta, who give the Africa Cup of Nations champions a 59.1 per cent chance of victory.

The draw is given a 24 per cent chance, with the likelihood of a Qatar win only 16.9 per cent.

Aliou Cisse vowed Senegal "will leave our mark" at the World Cup as they look to extend their perfect opening-game record at the tournament when they face the Netherlands.

The reigning African champions have won their previous two openers – a shock 1-0 win over France in 2002 and a 2-1 victory against Poland in 2018.

Senegal reached the quarter-finals 20 years ago, but they were eliminated in the group stage in the most recent edition and Cisse is hoping for a different outcome this time.

"The aim is to get out of this group. Once we get out of this group, we know that it will be a knockout tournament," he told reporters. 

"We will leave our mark. People are already looking ahead to the last 16, the quarter-finals, but we will be taking it a game at a time.

"We're not getting carried away. It's up to us to fully prepare ourselves and to do so wisely. We were knocked out of the last World Cup after just three games."

Senegal defeated Egypt in February to win their first Africa Cup of Nations title, before beating the same side the following month in a World Cup qualifying play-off.

Cisse's side are ranked 18th in the world – 10 places behind the Netherlands – and are without star man Sadio Mane in Qatar due to injury.

Senegal may have a perfect opening-game record, but the Netherlands are unbeaten in their past eight curtain-raising matches, winning six of those.

Oranje are back on the world stage after failing to qualify for Russia 2018, with veteran boss Louis van Gaal now in his third spell in charge.

Van Gaal, who will step aside at the end of the tournament, admits his side will need more than just talent to go all the way in Qatar and lift the trophy for the first time.

"I don't believe we have the best players on earth in our team," he said. "But I believe in team building and in tactics. I believe we can go far.

"But we also need luck – that is also important. Because of that and because I believe in imagination, we could be the world champion at the end of the tournament."

Monday's Group A contest at Al Thumama Stadium will mark the first time Senegal and three-time World Cup runners-up Netherlands have met.

Oranje are unbeaten in four matches against African opposition in the finals, while Senegal have won two and drawn one against European sides in the group stage.

PLAYERS TO WATCH

Senegal - Boulaye Dia

Losing Mane to injury just before the tournament was a cruel blow for Senegal, the forward having been directly involved in 12 of their past 25 goals in major tournaments.

It will now be down to others to step up and fill the void, such as Salernitana forward Boulaye Dia, who has been in good form at club level this campaign.

Dia has six goals in 14 Serie A matches – a tally only five others can better – and has been directly involved in eight overall for mid-table Salernitana.

Netherlands - Steven Bergwijn

Memphis Depay was the Netherlands' star man on the road to Qatar with 12 goals and six assists – those 18 direct goal involvements the most of any player in UEFA qualifying – but he has been ruled out of the Senegal match.

Van Gaal has a number of other options in attack, however, with Bergwijn one of them.

The Ajax winger has eight goals and three assists in 14 Eredivisie matches this campaign, and  six goals in his past nine appearances for his country, making him one Van Gaal can rely on.

PREDICTION

The Netherlands have won 11 of their past 14 matches at the World Cup, penalty shoot-outs excluded, with their most recent group-stage loss coming in 1994 against Belgium.

Senegal are tricky first opponents for Oranje, but Stats Perform's AI model has given the Netherlands a 59.2 per cent chance of taking all three points in Al Thumama.

The prediction model gives Senegal a 17 per cent chance of victory, while a draw is rated at 23.8 per cent.

Sadio Mane has been named in Senegal's squad for the World Cup despite suffering a fibula injury less than two weeks before the tournament begins.

The Bayern Munich attacker limped out of his side's 6-1 Bundesliga thrashing of Werder Bremen on Tuesday, and the Bavarian giants subsequently confirmed he had injured his right fibula head.

Reports in Germany and France said Mane's availability for Senegal's World Cup campaign – which begins against the Netherlands on November 21 – was in question, but Bayern did not rule him out of the tournament.

Senegal coach Aliou Cisse has opted to take a risk on Mane by naming him in his 26-man party for the trip to Qatar, though he acknowledges the former Liverpool star's condition must improve if he is to feature.

"We are monitoring the situation and have sent one of our doctors to assess him," Cisse said at a press conference in Dakar on Friday.

"On Thursday, Sadio spent the whole day in Munich before travelling to Austria for further tests. The good news is that he does not need an operation.

"We want the situation to evolve in two to three weeks. I don't want to rule him out."

Mane scored the winning penalty as Senegal beat Egypt to win their first Africa Cup of Nations title earlier this year, and he has been directly involved in 12 of the last 25 goals scored by Senegal players at major tournaments (AFCON and World Cup), netting nine and assisting three.

Chelsea defender Kalidou Koulibaly will captain the Lions of Teranga in Qatar, with Blues team-mate Edouard Mendy also set to start in goal.

Senegal squad: Seny Dieng (Queens Park Rangers), Alfred Gomis (Rennes), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea); Fode Ballo-Toure (Milan), Pape Abou Cisse (Olympiacos), Abdou Diallo (RB Leipzig), Ismail Jakobs (Monaco), Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea), Formose Mendy (Amiens), Youssouf Sabaly (Real Betis); Pathe Ciss (Rayo Vallecano), Krepin Diatta (Monaco), Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Pape Gueye (Marseille), Cheikhou Kouyate (Nottingham Forest), Mamadou Loum (Reading), Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City), Moustapha Name (Pafos), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham); Boulaye Dia (Salernitana), Famara Diedhiou (Alanyaspor), Bamba Dieng (Marseille), Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal), Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich), Iliman Ndiaye (Sheffield United), Ismaila Sarr (Watford).

Liverpool forward Sadio Mane has been encouraged to sign for Bayern Munich by his Senegal coach Aliou Cisse.

Mane has been strongly linked with a move to the Bundesliga champions, with just 12 months left to run on his current contract at Anfield.

The Premier League club are said to have turned down two advances from Bayern for the 30-year-old, who has lifted six major trophies in as many seasons with the Reds.

The Senegal international hinted at wanting a move away when on international duty and Cisse believes Bayern represent the best option for Mane's career if he is to leave Liverpool.

"I tell my boys to try to work out the contract issues so that when their respective championships resume, they will have already found a base," Cisse told reporters.

"I heard about Sadio at Bayern. For me, it is a club that is of its standing. Bayern is intense, pressing football with a German coach.

"Sadio played in Salzburg in Austria, which is a border country, and that means he is not going into unknown territory.

"For me, the club where he will feel the best is Bayern."

Mane has scored 90 goals in 196 Premier League games for Liverpool since joining from Southampton in 2016.

Only Leicester City striker Jamie Vardy (104), team-mate Mohamed Salah (118) and Tottenham's Harry Kane (134) have managed more in the competition across that period.

Jurgen Klopp's side appear to be close to signing Benfica forward Darwin Nunez as a replacement for Mane.

But Bayern sports director Hasan Salihamidzic has suggested the German side are considering multiple options in the transfer market, with the Mane move far from a certainty.

Senegal hero Sadio Mane has dedicated the side's Africa Cup of Nations triumph to Aliou Cisse who he labelled "the most criticized head coach I've ever seen in my life".

The Liverpool forward went from zero to hero when he netted the decisive spotkick as Senegal defeated Egypt 4-2 in a shootout following a 0-0 draw in Sunday's final where Mane missed a seventh-minute penalty.

Mane's penalty not only clinched Senegal's first-ever continental crown but it was a personal moment of redemption, having missed a decisive spotkick in the 2017 quarter-finals against Cameroon.

But the 29-year-old singled out head coach Cisse, who has 35 caps for Senegal before taking over as head coach in 2015, to dedicate the triumph.

"I know that the Senegalese people have suffered a lot but I dedicate this trophy to Aliou Cisse," Mane told reporters, having noted the criticism of the Lions of Teranga boss in the lead-up to the game. "If you knew what he did for the team."

Mane added: "When I missed the penalty first I thought of Aliou Cisse.. When I scored the last penalty, I immediately thought of Aliou Cisse."

Cisse, who was a runner-up at AFCON in 2002 during his playing days, praised the current generation headlined by Mane and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy who saved Mohanad Lasheen's spotkick to set up his teammate's moment of glory.

"It really proves the mental strength of this generation," Cisse said. "We're African champions.

"It's been long, it's been hard, and there have been complicated moments, but we never gave up.

"This was a hard match too; we missed the penalty, and there were other chances we weren't able to take, but the boys never abandoned the task.

"We are very happy to dedicate the victory to the Senegalese people because from independence until now we have been chasing this first win in this competition."