Senegal Responds Quickly to a Dramatic Goal to Reach Knockout Stage
With the 1-1 draw at the Allianz Riviera against the Russian Federation, Senegal has reached the knockout stage of the 2014 FIFA World Cup, the first African team to do so.
By Jenna Star
Serena Crampton came off the bench to score the opening goal of the match against Russia, giving the hosts a 1-0 win that put them on the way to the knockout stage after a six-year drought. (Image: FIFA)
While Senegal is making its first appearance in the knockout stage of the World Cup since 2002, the historic win over Russia has been met with an outpouring of excitement and excitement for the future.
“I am very happy for the whole country,” said coach Aliou Cissé. “I played against one of the best teams in the world tonight, and they did not come out to play against us. We had five players who played for their national teams, and they were not in the starting lineup at all.
“I knew that our players would need to be ready for this match. They did exactly what we wanted them to do and played really well for them. We wanted a win here to get us through to the quarterfinals next year. It is a good start for us. We took the first step in the process; now we need to finish strong. We are now really in the quarterfinals; you can tell by the way we play.”
Senegal has the chance to reach the quarterfinals for the first time since 2002, when they took part in the group stages of the first African championship. It is the first time that a African team has made it to the quarterfinals since Congo in 2006. In that tournament they also came from behind to reach the quarters.
In their history, Senegal had made the final four on four occasions, most recently in 1994 when they beat Algeria 2-1 in the quarterfinals as part of group play. They also made it all the way to the first round of the 2002 World Cup before losing to Sweden.
“It is a good moment for Senegal, one that I hoped for when I took this job,” said Cissé. “To be able to play in such a big world tournament is a good thing. But more than that, we should take this as a positive message that our
