Rory McIlroy set to grace the fairways at Sun City
‘Ignorant’ Alan Sugar apologises after offensive comments
● Senegal face Japan today at the World Cup fired up by an “ignorant” tweet by a British tycoon and reality television star that has become the talk of the team.
Along with Nigeria, a powerful Senegal side spearheaded by Liverpool striker Sadio Mane are flying the flag for Africa in Russia.
After battling to a 2-1 opening win over Poland in Group H, Aliou Cisse’s Senegal can take a major step towards the last 16 with victory over Japan in Yekaterinburg.
They unwittingly found themselves at the centre of a Twitter storm this week after businessman Alan Sugar tweeted a picture of the Senegal team with the caption, “I recognise some of these guys from the beach in Marbella”. Alongside the picture, the billionaire Briton posted images of sunglasses and handbags for sale.
The Apprentice presenter took down the post and later apologised after being accused of racism, but the incident angered Senegal and could serve to further inspire them against Japan.
Ndongo Ndiaye, a former basketball player and now an adviser to Senegal President Macky Sall, said: “Everyone here is talking about this tweet, it has made headlines in Senegal too. I think it is very ignorant from someone in his position,” said Ndiaye, calling for Sugar to be sacked by the BBC.
Japan will look to further explore their attacking potential in a battle of the surprise contenders to advance to the knockout stage from Group H.
The Blue Samurai have largely worked on keeping things tight at the back since head coach Akira Nishino took over from the sacked Vahid Halilhodzic in April, but saw their attack shift gears in Tuesday's 2-1 win over 10-man Colombia in Saransk.
Victory saw Japan become the first Asian side to beat South American opponents at the World Cup, but they are fully aware that Senegal, who scored an upset 2-1 win over Poland, could pose a sterner test .
Senegal come into the match equally high on confidence after a strong defensive
Senegal won due to discipline. You saw a Senegal team very solid, very compact Aliou Cisse
Coach of Senegal
display in Moscow helped them neutralise the Polish attack led by Robert Lewandowski. “Senegal won due to discipline,” coach Aliou Cisse, captain of the side which beat holders France in their first ever World Cup match in 2002, said. “You saw a Senegal team very solid, very compact.”
With 10 of their starting XI from the last match playing in Europe, including Liverpool forward Mane and Napoli defender Kalidou Koulibaly, Senegal resemble a welldrilled European side and could make life tough for Japan.
Japan, who will bank on goalscorers Shinji Kagawa and Yuya Osako as well as Keisuke Honda to provide thrust going forward, are confident they have what it takes to seal a third trip to the last 16 — the furthest they have reached at a World Cup.
Progress could result in a possible meeting with England or Belgium, but Nishino is not looking too far ahead. “We’ll focus on showing our strength in the next match,” he said.