Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye has sent a warning to England ahead of their World Cup last-16 clash against Senegal.
Gueye helped Senegal reach the knockout stages of the competition in Qatar by beating Ecuador earlier in the week. They will meet the Three Lions on Sunday for a place in the quarter-final.
However, Gueye will not be involved in the game after receiving a second yellow card of the tournament on Tuesday. He will serve a one-match suspension and will only play a part in Qatar again if Senegal beat England.
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Despite not being able to play, the Everton midfielder has sent a warning to England that his Senegal team-mates will make it difficult for Gareth Southgate’s side.
“The last 16 is not the objective,” Gueye is quoted saying by the Mail Online . “We see beyond that. We have no limits. We have a squad to go far. Playing like this, we can do something really interesting in this competition.”
Reflecting on his suspension for the game against England, Gueye said: “I'm really disappointed. But I'm happy for the team.
“I'm just hoping they can do the job and I can play in the quarter-finals. We keep saying in training and all the time that we need the whole squad and we can only do this altogether in this kind of competition.
“We have a big experience in the AFCON and in that sort of competition you need everybody, not just 11 or 12 players. Everybody has to be committed. The subs have to work hard in training to be ready in case the manager calls them in. I congratulated the whole squad because they were all like that.”
Gueye also had words of praise for a player who was a Liverpool transfer target at one time. Watford star Ismaila Sarr was linked with a move to Anfield in 2020, before the Reds went and signed Diogo Jota from Wolves.
With Sarr scoring one goal in the tournament so far, and playing in all three group games, Gueye says the one-time Reds target could be a key player against England.
“He can be the X-Factor,” said Gueye. “The kind of player who takes on players and makes the difference. He is playing really well and he can be even better, he just has to work hard and keep going, believe in himself.
“He can be a leader, and he can't be scared because we have the midfielders behind him to compensate and recover the ball. He can focus on attacking. We need him to do this and play these kind of games.”
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