Team Melli

Team Melli and Senegal continue their preparations for the upcoming World Cup when they go head to head in a warm-up friendly at the BSFZ-Arena on Tuesday.

Team Melli has been drawn into Group B of the World Cup, alongside England, USA and Wales, while the African champions will face Ecuador, Netherlands, and host nation Qatar in Group A.

Senegal showed they remain on the right track ahead of the FIFA World Cup as they cruised to a 2-0 victory over Bolivia when the sides squared off at the Stade de la Source last Saturday.

After taking a two-goal lead into half-time courtesy of strikes from Boulaye Dia and Bayern Munich man Sadio Mane, the Lions of Teranga turned in a solid defensive performance in the second half to repel the South Americans and see out the win.

Although both Iran and Senegal are coming out of two satisfying wins against Latin American teams, both sides still like to continue on the winning track. Senegal is probably the slight favorite especially if you consider their players’ Europen clubs profile versus Iran’s and the FIFA Ranking, Senegal is 18th while Iran is 22nd.

As witnessed by the last match, Team Melii has been working quite effectively on compressed defense not allowing the opponent’s stars to come close to their keeper. This worked well against Uruguay frustrating their players and forcing them to try their luck from a distance.

Senegal’s style is different and is a mix of power, energy, running, and individual skills. The players have no fear of trying anything from dribbling inside the box to shooting from distance.  The pace of the game is fast, pushing forward and hard tackling for every ball. Unlike Queiroz’s whose style is of a slower pace of energy conservation and hitting the opponents when they sap all their energies.

With Taremi expecting to start the match, it will be an interesting confrontation with Koulibaly, the big Chelsea defender whose late form has not been as expected. Taremi has proven that he is a stylish finisher and needs half chance to score. He will not get many against a tough Senagaluses defense, so he needs to take half chances.

Saido Mane is expected to be the main threat for Senegal. A mixture of pace, agility, and clever moves, will test Iran’s defenders to the full. It will be another interesting duel to watch.

For Aliou Cisse this is a tricky challenge as he is taking on an unfamiliar Iran side. Queiroz on the other hand has read Cisse’s side and game plan. He will surely be looking for an act of revenge after the Senegalese deprived him of the World Cup 2022 and the African Cup title.