With so much admiration for the excellence in the Senegal squad, RODNEY REINERS runs the rule over a few of the star names.
Mohamed Diame
The energetic Newcastle United midfielder was one of the first names manager Rafael Benitez brought in to spearhead the English Championship side’s drive for promotion back to the Premiership. Having played for Wigan Athletic, West Ham United and Hull City, before joining Newcastle this year, the 29-year-old has vast experience of football in England.
He’s a player with fight, commitment and determination - just the type of old-fashioned, 110-percent workhorse player required when a team has promotion in mind. For Senegal, too, Diame will play a similar role on Saturday, which means that Bafana’s midfield grunts, like Dean Furman, Hlompho Kekana and Andile Jali are going to have to be at their best.
Mame Biram Diouf
The Stoke City striker’s claim to fame is probably the fact that he spent three years on the books of Manchester United, and scoring on his home debut at Old Trafford in a 3-0 win over Burnley in January 2010.
That alone highlights the class of Diouf. After Man United, he had spells at Blackburn Rovers in England and Hannover in Germany before moving to Stoke - and it’s here, under manager Mark Hughes, that the striker is finding his touch again. He’s able to play as a target man if required, but his great strength is the ability to find space behind opposition defences.
And, for Bafana, there’s the warning: Rivaldo Coetzee, Eric Mathoho and Thulani Hlatshwayo are going to have to be compact, and keep their defensive shape and structure, to ensure that Diouf doesn’t sneak in behind them.
Sadio Mane
The Liverpool winger warmed up for the encounter against Bafana with a scintillating performance in the Reds’ 6-1 demolition of Watford on Sunday. The result took the popular Anfield club to the top of the English Premiership standings - and Mane’s impressive displays have been influential in the team’s great run of form.
On Sunday, he scored twice in the victory against Watford, the first goal a sublime glancing header that flashed into the net. The dashing Senegalese winger has struck up a wonderful, almost telepathic, understanding with Liverpool teammates Roberto Firmino and Philippe Coutinho - and, if Liverpool are to achieve their ambitions this season, then Mane, no doubt, will play a major part in manager Jurgen Klopp’s plans.
But, when the 24-year-old arrives in South Africa this week, he will, temporarily, put Liverpool at the back of his mind and thrust his country’s World Cup objective to the forefront of his focus.
Mane is Senegal’s main man, the go-to guy in attack and, if Bafana have any intention of getting past the west Africans on Saturday, they are going to have to find a way to neutralise the threat posed by this exciting forward.
Idrissa Gueye
Everton’s defensive midfielder has been hailed as the “new N’Golo Kante” of the English Premiership. Much like Kante, the Frenchman who anchored Leicester City’s drive to the English title last season, Senegal’s Gueye is the fulcrum upon which Everton operate. He sits back in the engine-room and acts as the link man between defence and attack.
He presses the opposition, is an aggressive presence in winning possession and, then,moves the ball along swiftly to bring the team’s creative sparks into play. So expect much of the same from the 26-year-old in his deep-lying position when Senegal strive to put one over Bafana on Saturday.
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Cheikhou Kouyate
West Ham United’s all-action midfielder is another top-class footballer Bafana are going to have to monitor carefully. The 26-year-old, who played for Anderlecht and KV Kortrijk in Belgium before joining the Hammers, has been pivotal in the London club’s recent rise in the English Premiership.
He’s a combative presence in midfield and his box-to-box running makes him extremely vital to both club and country. Because of his intelligent late runs into the opposition penalty area, he has also netted some sensational goals for West Ham. But, for Kouyate, Saturday is all about ensuring that Senegal stay on track to qualify for the 2018 World Cup.
With the quality of the squad the Senegalese currently have, there’s a feeling they can emulate the Class of 2002, who made it to the quarter-finals of the global football spectacular. But to have a shot at achieving it, they first have to qualify - and, at this stage of the qualifiers, Bafana are standing in their way.
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Senegal have rolled out the big guns for Bafana Bafana when the two countries clash in a crunch 2018 World Cup qualifier at the new Peter Mokaba Stadium in Polokwane on Saturday (kick-off 3pm).
On paper, the west Africans have put together a formidable squad, one that could easily have any opposition team quaking in its boots.
But football is not played on paper - it's all about what happens between the four white lines on the field.
There’s no need to stress the importance of this qualifier. With only the winner of the group securing a place in Russia in 2018, there’s no margin for error. With Senegal already topping the standings after a 2-0 win over Cape Verde - Bafana played to a 1-1 draw away to Burkina Faso - a win on Saturday is crucial.
@extrastrongsa
The Star