‘Senegal is the best’: Dakar dreams of World Cup upset over England
Just under 4,500 miles (7,200km) away from the shiny stadiums in Qatar, a man named Serigne Fallou confidently proclaims that he already knows what the result will be on Sunday when England take on Senegal in the World Cup’s round of 16.
“Absolutely, Senegal will win, 1-0,” says Fallou, an apartment doorman in Dakar, Senegal’s bustling capital on the Atlantic Ocean. “I don’t have a doubt.”
There’s a buzz in the air in the small west African country, whose Lions of Teranga have been on a hot streak of late. Players such as Sadio Mané, recently traded from Liverpool to Bayern Munich, Kalidou Koulibaly, of Chelsea, and Everton’s Idrissa Gana Gueye star in the European leagues. They bested Mo Salah’s Egypt to win the Africa Cup of Nations this year, sparking multiday street parties in Dakar that delayed the arrival of the winners – and their trophy – from the airport as they crawled through seven hours of crowdinduced traffic welcoming them home.
And now, the Senegalese are ready to win what would be their first World Cup.
Street sellers in the capital, thronging with millions of residents, have traded – or added to – their usual stocks of kitchenware, phone chargers or tourist tchotchkes for Senegalese flags, wristbands, headbands and shirts. Jerseys of varying legality go for 5,000 to 15,000 CFA francs (£6.50 to £19.50), with children often running around the street decked out head to toe in full kits before games.
“They will win. The Senegalese team is the champion of Africa,” says Ousseynou Thioune, who is selling a variety of jerseys and wristbands on a busy boulevard. He bumps up Fallou’s prediction, to 2-0.
“They’re still the Lions, even without Sadio,” Thioune says, referencing the star forward Mané, who was injured in a Bayern game just before the World Cup began.
The announcement that the Ballon d’Or runner-up would have to miss the tournament caused drama and consternation among the football- and Manécrazed populace. In the aftermath, one man told France24: “I cried when I saw” the news.
“With my friends, we were talking about it.,” he said “There were some who had bought a television [to watch the World Cup] – and they sold it back.”
Yet the Lions have more than persevered. Their opening game against the Netherlands, resulting in a 2-0 loss, was quickly pushed aside by 3-1 and 2-1 wins against Qatar and Ecuador respectively.
Thioune said: “This year, this World Cup, I hope the Africans are going to the final. An African team must qualify. And Senegal is the best.”
Along with Senegal, Morocco have also advanced out of the group stage, with Cameroon and Ghana still in with a chance of qualification going into their final group matches on Friday.
“Football helps people forget about unemployment, it helps people forget about their problems,” Thioune continued. “When there’s football, everybody is talking about football. You’re forced to forget your problems – even the politicians, even the president.”
In Senegal, the national sport is laamb, a sumo-like form of traditional wrestling. But like so many other countries, football is still the great equaliser, played everywhere from Senegal’s pockmarked sandlots to its grand stadiums. When Mané played for Liverpool, it was easy to find television sets and smartphones tuned into the Reds everywhere from Dakar to the smallest villages in rural hinterlands.
“We have [star] players, like the English. They play in English championships,” said Ke Ba, a restaurateur who serves up the national dish of thieboudienne – fish, rice and vegetables – from his one-room restaurant. Despite wearing a Manchester United jersey, he has no love for the English national team.
“We believe we will win,” he said. “It’s the World Cup – you have to beat the big teams.”
Still, some are hedging their bets. “No,” said Djibril Diallo, insisting he was not nervous, but “England – it’s not a small team”. The corner store owner, who has draped Senegalese flags and scarves across the shelves of foodstuffs, added that Senegal was not a small team either.
“This match is a bit complicated,” he said. “Two equals are playing. Two teams, equal. In any case, we’ll pray to God.”
On a nearby beach, children and adults play pick-up games along the shoreline. Even in a worst-case scenario, they will be there again on Monday, same as ever, the next generation of Manés, Koulibalys and Gueyes among them.