LIONS,EAGLESTOSOAR?

Senegal and Tunisia will have their work cut out trying to make it out of the group stage of the World Cup in Russia, starting this week, write the Independent’s and

GOLEO AND PILLE Goleo was a lion dressed in a Germany shirt but had no pants. Pille, a talking football, was his sidekick (almost literally). To put it mildly, Goleo didn’t go down well with Germans, not least because he was pants-less, but also that lions last roamed Germany about 60,000 years ago. The less said about Pille the better – the name says it all, really.

OF the five teams that will represent Africa at the World Cup, tHE LIONS of Teranga are the one team that inspires little confidence. They almost didn’t make it here. They needed a replay against South Africa to gain momentum and eventually top a group that also had Burkina Faso and Cape Verde. That replay was due to controversial Ghanaian referee Joseph Lamptey being fingered in a match manipulating scheme from betting syndicates.

Senegal took the second chance and ran away with it. But they were far from convincing despite having a decent team led by Sadio Mane. Even in the Africa Cup of Nations last year they didn’t look that great against strong teams. They seem to rely too much on Mane. That reliance will be suicidal in the World Cup as they are up against teams who work well as a unit. Poland, Japan and Colombia might not be forces in the global game but they can pack a mean punch that can floor the best in the world. Senegal at the moment aren’t even the best in Africa.

But Aliou Cisse, former Senegal captain, is a shrewd tactician who knows what this team is capable of doing with the right inspiration. Cisse led Senegal to a remarkable run in the 2002 World Cup after they lost the Afcon final to Cameroon. The Lions of Teranga devoured the then world champions France in the opening round and went as far as the quarter-finals. No one gave them a chance to even make it out of their group then, just like not many people are backing them 16 years later. Senegal has a number of creative ball players who can run rings around Poland, Japan and Colombia. But over-reliance on individual brilliance is their Achilles heel. If they can come together and be a stronger unit they could cause an upset.

Liverpool sent a private jet to Gabon last year to immediately whisk Mane out of the country and back to England the moment Senegal were knocked out of the

The only other African team, along with Senegal, heading to the World Cup with a local coach in Nabil Maaloul, a man who will have his name written in Tunisian folklore after he became the second home-grown coach to take the national team to the global showpiece. Abdelmajid Chetali was the first in 1978. It’s a career highlight for Maaloul, whose biggest achievement until this successful World Cup qualification feat was winning the CAF Champions League with Esperance in 2011.

With England’s poor track record at major tournaments recently, and Panama probably being considered easy targets as first-timers at a World Cup, Tunisia could very well be among the surprise favourites alongside Belgium in Group G. Sure, they are a bit rough around the edges because of missing the previous two World Cup finals and being an average side in the Africa Cup of Nations since winning it in 2004.

But anything can happen in Russia, especially considering their opponents there. They will fancy their chances against Panama, try to upset England and hope for the best against Belgium – that’s probably the best tactic for coach Maaloul as the North Africans aim for a knockout berth and going beyond just making up the numbers.

Youssef Msakni gave Tunisia a massive scare ahead of the tournament by Africa Cup of Nations, such is his importance to his club. In Mane’s absence Liverpool won just once in seven matches. Before his departure the English side was lethal.

He is part of what is probably the most potent attacking trio in European football at the moment, along with Mohamed Salah and Roberto Firminho. If he can bring his club form to Senegal the Lions of Teranga are in with a chance. Mane is fast, skilful and deadly in front of goal. The 26-year-old who has scored 18 goals for Liverpool this season has broad shoulders to carry any team. He carried a limping Senegal to Russia and will be expected to continue doing so in the global showpiece.

“What Mane has is a gift from God,” Cisse was quoted after Mane took Senegal to the quarter-finals of the Afcon. “I am not the one who has helped him to lift his game to this level or who makes him the person he is. Of course it’s good for him to be in the team he is in at the moment, a team that gives him opportunities to improve, and he just needs to carry on what he’s doing.”

Mane can only be stopped by the injuries that have troubled him. He also has a good head on his shoulders like Salah which means he doesn’t have any prima donna antics that many players who shine in Europe come with in their national teams, especially when they struggle to meet the European conditions due to their limited financial means. Mane puts Senegal first and he even arrived for the undergoing knee surgery that could mean he is unavailable to play (there were reports there is a good chance he could miss the World Cup at the time of writing).

But the technical team has remained hopeful, even though suggestions have been that he definitely won’t recover in time. They are hopeful he’ll be fit and ready to play in their opener against England on June 18. Msakni has scored 14 goals in 51 appearances for Tunisia and his contribution during the qualifying rounds was immense as he managed three goals in seven matches. The coach will have to turn to Naim Sliti, the French-based midfielder on loan to Djion from Lille. And a few others would have to also step up to fill the void left by Msakni, who will be a big miss at the World Cup. The Eagles of Carthage have particpated in four World Cup tournements. Like Senegal, they withdrew from the 1966 edition of the showpiece ARGENTINA 1978 P3 W1 D1 L1 GF3 GA2 FRANCE 1998 P3 W0 D1 L2 GF1 GA4 SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN 2002 P3 W0 D1 L2 GF1 GA5 GERMANY 2006 P3 W0 D1 L2 GF3 GA6 RUSSIA 2018 FIXTURES Monday: v England, 8pm June 23: v Belgium, 2pm June 28: v Panama, 8pm World Cup qualifiers with Liverpool saying he is unfit to play. The Senegalese have participated at the World Cup once. They also qualified for the 1966 edition but withdrew from that tournament. SOUTH KOREA AND JAPAN 2002 P5 W2 D2 L1 GF7 GA6 RUSSIA 2018 FIXTURES Tuesday: v Poland, 5pm June 24: v Japan, 5pm June 28: v Colombia, 4pm