Diao sums up Senegal flaws that threaten cup run

Denmark 1

Senegal 1

By Paul Walker

SALIF DIAO scored a wonder goal, got himself sent off and underlined the erratic flaws which could yet destroy Senegal’s World Cup.

The midfielder, set for a £4 million move to Anfield next season, started and finished a wonderful pitch-length move at blistering pace to wipe out Jon Dahl Tomasson’s first-half penalty in today’s Group A draw with Denmark.

Then Diao was given a straight red card 10 minutes from time - he had already been booked - for kicking Rene Henriksen and will therefore miss Senegal’s next match.

All now depends on the last round of matches in this exciting group. Denmark felt they had fortune on their side, but the flaws in Senegal’s make-up were there for all to see and the team who beat France on day one still cannot be sure of further progress.

Senegal allowed themselves to be disrupted by a competitive, determined and bloody-minded European side who survived the searing heat and sapping humidity.

Tomasson got his third goal of the competition with a 16th﷓minute penalty after being floored in the box. That gave his team something to hang on to as the heat and the pressure mounted from the Africans. Denmark earned the point their sweat and toil warranted. For long spells they reduced Senegal to an irritated, arguing bunch who allowed their suspect temperament to suppress their stunning athletic ability. Denmark boss Morten Olsen knows that when Senegal concentrated and opened up they were devastating.

They will surely beat Uruguay in their final match to clinch qualification to the second phase - while Denmark know they need a point against France to be sure.

Olsen said: ‘‘We were lucky to get the point - the second half showed that. This group is very tight. There are four teams who can beat each other.

‘‘But now we have France as our last game and we will need to play better in the second half against them than we did this time.

‘‘When Senegal started to play - and with them being more accustomed to the heat - they were much the better in the second half and they scored a stunning goal that underlines exactly what they are capable of.

‘‘We are satisfied with the point. We had good control of the game in the first half. But in the second period it was 30 degrees. That is okay for an African nation but different for a European country.’’

El-Hadji Diouf, Liverpool’s prospective £10m new signing, was honest enough to admit that Denmark’s AC Milan defender Thomas Helveg got under his skin with a combative performance. The striker lost his cool continually: ‘‘After the game we shook hands and he congratulated me on my performance. He was very aggressive, although I thought I managed very well.”

DENMARK: Sorensen, Henriksen, Laursen, Heintze, Helveg, Gronkjaer (Jorgensen 50), Gravesen (Poulsen 62), Tofting, Rommedahl (Lovenkrands 89), Tomasson, Sand.

SENEGAL: Sylva, Coly, Daf, Sarr (Henri Camara 45), Diao, Diouf, Pape Malick Diop, Diatta, Papa Bouba Diop, Fadiga, Moussa N’Diaye (Souleymane Camara 45), Souleymane Camara (Beye 83).