sport news England must be wary of Senegal's Ismaila Sarr and Iliman Ndiaye in Round of 16 ... trends now
While Gareth Southgate deliberates on which Champions League stars should face Senegal, his opponents are pinning their faith on a couple of young forwards from the Championship.
Watford’s Ismaila Sarr and Iliman Ndiaye, of Sheffield United, have so far done a remarkable job filling the sizeable gap vacated by the injured Sadio Mane.
Sarr arrived in Qatar with a growing reputation but for his junior partner the journey on to the world stage has been totally unexpected.
Senegal have endured a memorable run to the World Cup Round of 16 where they face England
Ndiaye left non-League Boreham Wood three years ago without having played a first-team game and his professional debut at Sheffield United arrived as recently as 2021, following a loan spell at Hyde in the Northern Premier League.
His manager at Boreham Wood, Luke Garrard, always classified Ndiaye as his ‘rough diamond’, having first spotted him at 16. But to see him about to face England is still a surprise.
‘We hoped he’d go on to better things because we saw his ability. He caressed the ball rather than doing everything at a frantic tempo,’ says Garrard. ‘But to play in the knockout stages of a World Cup? Not in my wildest dreams. The development is off the scale and full credit to the lad.
‘I remember one game we played at St George’s Park to test out VAR. He sat down three or four lads to score. He moved so cleanly, you couldn’t coach that.’
Iliman Ndiaye has had a remarkable rise to the World Cup, only making his pro debut in 2021
Ndiaye, 22, was born in France and moved to England via Senegal because of his dad’s work. Despite his potential, with Boreham Wood challenging to get into the Football League there was no spot for him in the first team.
‘He was in squads but I didn’t want to throw him into a situation where he couldn’t deliver,’ said Garrard.
‘He was playing with
