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Senegal boss Aliou Cissé misses his pre-match press conference a day before the round of 16 clash with England due to illness… although he is expected to be on the bench despite being replaced by his number 2 on the eve of the match. play
Senegal manager Aliou Ciise is a doubt for Senegal’s final game of 16 against England after missing the pre-match press conference due to illness.
The Three Lions will take on Senegal on Sunday night, with the winners facing either France or Poland in the World Cup quarterfinals.
Traditionally, coaches face the media the day before each World Cup match, however Cissé did not show up for his meeting with journalists on Saturday, although he is expected to be on the bench tomorrow.
Senegal coach Aliou Cissé is a doubt to be on the touchline for Sunday’s round of 16 clash.
Assistant manager Regis Bogaert (left) took the press conference with third choice goalkeeper Alfred Gomis (right) when Cissé missed the media meeting due to “illness”.
“He’s been sick for a couple of days,” said assistant coach Regis Bogaert, who replaced Cissé at the news conference.
Yesterday he let us take charge of training, obviously with his instructions to the players.
“Hopefully tomorrow he can come and be on the bench with the players, but we are sure that at 10:00 p.m. he will be there with the team.”
Bogaert revealed that Senegalese coach Cissé missed Friday’s training
“I can confirm that he is sick and has a bit of a temperature, so we have to be careful with his situation.”
England are favorites for Sunday’s clash, although Bogaert believes that further surprise results at this year’s tournament may inspire Senegal.
“The message is strong,” he said. “We have seen that Cameroon can beat Brazil and Tunisia can beat France, so we know that Senegal can beat England. That is what we are looking for. That is an important message.
Bogaert took the press conference along with his third-choice goalkeeper, Alfred Gomis.
Gomis was a surprise choice given that managers traditionally pick someone who will be involved in the game, and Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy looks set to start in goal.
England will play either France or Poland in the World Cup quarter-finals if they advance
Sun have reported that Senegal was fined £8,700 for doing their press conference before their win over Ecuador under Cissé, but no player.
A player is required to face the media the day before the matches together with the coach.
The reason for Senegal’s decision not to bring a player is uncertain, but Germany coach Hansi Flick said he did not bring a player to a press conference ahead of their game against Spain because their World Cup host Mundo was too far from Doha.
He said he “didn’t want a player to spend three hours on the road” as they couldn’t hold press conferences at their training base, but had to do it in Doha.