Senegal coach Aliou Cisse is aware of the high expectations to reach the World Cup knockout stages due to their status as African champions but adds that his players are adapting well to the pressure.
Cisse’s side lost 2-0 to the Netherlands in their opening group match before beating Qatar 3-1 in their next encounter to keep alive their hopes of advancing.
The Teranga Lions need to beat Ecuador in their final Group A game on Tuesday to qualify for the last 16. They could still remain in contention with a draw, provided hosts Qatar beat three-times finalists Netherlands.
“I come from a country where we don’t like losing,” said Cisse. “We’re always hungry for that win. Not going to the round of 16 would be difficult to digest.
“We’re okay, we’re dealing with the pressure and stress. For me, it’s good stress.”
“We understand that winning will allow us to continue on the adventure and that’s exactly what we intend on doing,” Cisse said. “We know in 2018 we were looking for a draw when maybe the points would play in our favour but this isn’t the case tomorrow.
“We’ve got a very strong and experienced team, they’re a well-oiled machine. We’ve got the right mixture of veterans and players, players who are used to these types of challenges.”
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