England face Senegal tonight for a quarter-final berth at the World Cup 2022. The two nations reached the knockout stages of the competition after finishing in the top two of their respective groups.
England finished top of their group, which also contained USA, Iran and neighbours Wales. The Americans went through as group runners-up before succumbing to the Netherlands in the opening Round of 16 fixture.
Senegal finished second in their group, behind the Dutch. They've also faced Ecuador and hosts Qatar along their journey so far. Despite losing captain and talisman Sadio Mane to injury on the eve of the competition, the Africans have played with confidence and aggression in their games so far.
❌ Harry Kane's lack of goals⁉️ Will Phil Foden start v Senegal?👏 Marcus Rashford's form🏴🗣@gabrielclarke05 sat down with Gareth Southgate ahead of @England's round of 16 game against Senegal Watch in full 🔗 https://t.co/M0thVCuDcJ pic.twitter.com/XY0q8EvPdDDecember 4, 2022
How they fare against England, who are among the favourites to lift the title this winter, will be of special interest, not least because they have performed well to date. Even more intriguing is the two nations' historical record against one another.
England are one of the oldest footballing nations, while Senegal are the reigning champions of Africa. You would be forgiven for thinking, therefore, that there have been countless encounters between the two.
Yet this will be the first game ever featuring these national teams. The Three Lions and the Lions of Teranga have never faced each other in official competitions nor international friendly games.
That weird stat makes this tie even tougher to predict, and football fans will be salivating at the prospect of them facing off for the very first time.
