Sheffield United: Clamour grows in Senegal for Iliman Ndiaye to start at World Cup

The clamour for Sheffield United’s Iliman Ndiaye to start Senegal’s crucial World Cup game against Ecuador next week appears to be growing, with the African champions’ head coach Aliou Cisse being asked by journalists from the country if the youngster is the ideal replacement for Sadio Mane.
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Ndiaye impressed on his debut at the tournament, creating his team’s third goal during Friday’s victory over the host nation Qatar soon after being introduced as a substitute.

The loss of Mane earlier this month dealt a huge blow to Senegal’s hopes of advancing to the latter stages, with the Bayern Munich attacker viewed as Cisse’s most dangerous player. But Ndiaye’s contribution to a result which means another win, this time over the South Americans, will see the Senegalese progress from Group A has made him the talk of Dakar. One newspaper there has published a documentary on the United player on its website while Cisse, despite being coy on the matter, found himself being questioned about Ndiaye’s ability to fill the void created by Mane’s absence following the meeting with Felix Sanchez’s side.

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“It is difficult to replace a player of Sadio Mane’s calibre,” Cisse said. “But, as I say, a football team is also a collective.”

Iliman has his qualities,” he continued. “I know them. It is the same for Bamba Dieng and the others and that is why they are in the national team today. But it is the collective that is important. Each coach prepares for matches in relation to their opponent.”

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