Soccer
Senegal boss Pape Thiaw promised that his team were fully focused on their clash with Norway, saying his team would “die for Africa” to keep their World Cup campaign alive.
The New York New Jersey Stadium will play host to this crucial fixture in Group I, with Senegal aiming to bounce back from their 3-1 defeat to France last time out.
But they come up against a Norway side who thumped Iraq 4-1 in their opening match of the tournament, as they look to win more than one game in a single World Cup campaign for the very first time.
This will be the two nations’ first World Cup meeting. Their only previous encounter came in a March 2006 friendly in Dakar, which Senegal were able to win 2-1.
But having lost just one of their first five World Cup matches against European nations (W3 D1), Senegal have since lost each of the last three, including their defeat to France.
However, Thiaw insisted that his players would leave everything out on the pitch, though he did acknowledge the test that was awaiting his time in their second group match.
“We are in a tough group; we knew this coming into the tournament,” Thiaw said. “All three games are like finals; we have lost the first one, but there is still everything to play for.
“But we cannot get this wrong [against Norway]; everyone is ready and wants to get stuck in and put in a good shift. We are ready to die for Africa and Senegal.”
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Thiaw was also asked about his plan to stop Norway star Erling Haaland, who netted twice against Iraq in what was his first appearance at the World Cup.
Haaland has scored in each of his last 11 competitive appearances for Norway, including scoring multiple goals in each of the last five.
The Manchester City striker has also netted at least one goal in 17 of his last 20 competitive international appearances dating back to the start of 2023.
“It is not an anti-Haaland plan; it is an anti-Norway plan,” Thiaw added.
“We have defenders that have played in high-level competitions who have come across strikers of this calibre before.
“When we come up against Haaland, we need to be on our guard. But most important is how we stop the Norwegian team as a whole.”
But Haaland could find some joy against a Senegal team that have struggled defensively at the World Cup.
Of all 48 participating nations in 2026, only Saudi Arabia (18) are currently on a longer run without a clean sheet at the World Cup than Senegal.
They have conceded in each of their last 12 matches at the tournament since beating France 1-0 in their first-ever game in the competition back in 2002, and Thiaw said that was a statistic that his team must change if they are to be successful.
“It is true we have conceded a lot of goals. There is no room for error anymore,” Thiaw said.
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