Senegal can repeat 2002 WC success in 2018: Cisse

Yekaterinburg, June 23: Senegal head coach Aliou Cisse said on Saturday that his team could repeat their 2002 FIFA World Cup success at this years tournament in Russia. Senegal defeated Poland 2-1 in their first encounter at this year's World Cup, reported Sputnik news agency.

During their first appearance at the World Cup in 2002, Senegal stunned then defending champions France 1-0 in the tournament opener.

Senegal, who had Cisse on their 2002 roster, reached the quarter-finals, eventually losing 0-1 to Turkey.

"We had a great generation of players then (in 2002), we have a good generation now. I think we have everything we need to put in such a good performance as then. The team is very motivated, we'll try to do our best to continue playing good football. We won the first match, and the victory in the second match can become the key one," Cisse told journalists.

Senegal will next take on Japan here on Sunday.

"We know that Japan is a good team, they're good at passing, they can put pressure (on the opponent), they're very disciplined," Cisse added.

The 2018 FIFA World Cup kicked off on June 14 and will continue until July 15, with the matches set to be played in 11 cities across Russia. IANS