Aliou Cisse: Africa will eventually win the World Cup

by Phumzile Ngcatshe

Friday Jun 22, 2018. 17:00

Senegal coach Aliou Cisse says he feels an African national team is coming close to winning a World Cup trophy after leading his men to a 2-1 win over Poland in their first group game of the 2018 World Cup.

The Lions of Teranaga boss says despite his confidence in winning the global tournament, they will have to up their game as Africans.

Cisse's side were the only team from the continent to win in the opening round of fixtures at Russia 2018, with the other four losing.

Although there is no country from the African continent that has reached the World Cup semi-finals before, three have reached the quarter-finals.

Moreover, the former Portsmouth midfielder reckons it's a bit too early to say why African sides have had a difficult start to the tournament.

"Africa is full of quality and we're on the way," said Cisse.

"It's a bit more complicated in our countries. We face realities that are not there in other continents.

"But we fully trust our football, we have no hang-ups.

“I'm certain that one day an African team, an African country, will win the World Cup.”

While Senegal beat Poland 2-1, Egypt and Morocco were eliminated inside the first week, while Nigeria and Tunisia lost their opening encounters.