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England must beware boy from Boreham Wood!

By Joe Bernstein

WHILE Gareth Southgate deliberates on which Champions League stars should face Senegal, his opponents are pinning their faith on a couple of young forwards from the Championship.

Watford’s Ismaila Sarr and Iliman Ndiaye, of Sheffield United, have so far done a remarkable job filling the sizeable gap vacated by the injured Sadio Mane.

Sarr arrived in Qatar with a growing reputation but for his junior partner the journey on to the world stage has been totally unexpected.

Ndiaye left non-League Boreham Wood three years ago without having played a first-team game and his professional debut at Sheffield United arrived as recently as 2021, following a loan spell at Hyde in the Northern Premier League.

His manager at Boreham Wood, Luke Garrard, always classified Ndiaye as his ‘rough diamond’, having first spotted him at 16. But to see him about to face England is still a surprise.

‘We hoped he’d go on to better things because we saw his ability. He caressed the ball rather than doing everything at a frantic tempo,’ says Garrard. ‘But to play in the knockout stages of a World Cup? Not in my wildest dreams. The development is off the scale and full credit to the lad.

‘I remember one game we played at St George’s Park to test out VAR. He sat down three or four lads to score. He moved so cleanly, you couldn’t coach that.’

Ndiaye, 22, was born in France and moved to England via Senegal because of his dad’s work. Despite his potential, with

Boreham Wood challenging to get into the Football League there was no spot for him in the first team.

‘He was in squads but I didn’t want to throw him into a situation where he couldn’t deliver,’ said Garrard.

‘He was playing with and against men who needed results to pay the mortgage. Your first game can be your last.

‘Sheffield United saw him play for England colleges and we allowed him to go at 19. I found him to be a humble kid from a humble background but confident in his ability. Ideally, I’d like England to win but for Iliman to score.’

Besides trickery, one of Ndiaye’s strengths is versatility. He started out centrally for Boreham Wood but is wide right in a 4-3-3 at this World Cup. He has scored nine goals for the Blades this season and got an assist for his country in the 3-1 win against hosts Qatar.

His loan at Hyde at the start of 2020 was pivotal. ‘He was in and out of Sheffield Under-23s and at the crossroads,’ says their manager, Dave McGurk. ‘I saw he had talent and pestered them for a loan. He was brilliant in training.

‘We’d have skill drills and he’d rest the ball on his head and sprint

to the halfway line. It was beyond what you see at our level, the lads loved him. The only thing which let him down was his finishing. He created umpteen chances but needed to convert them.

‘He didn’t drive at the time so would come over on the train from Sheffield and get home at 9.30 at night. If we had a light training session, I told him he need not travel, but he wanted to be there.’

Compared to Ndiaye, Sarr, 24, has been on the radar. A talented winger described by Mane as a ‘shy boy’, he has been regularly linked with Premier League clubs, though none has so far matched Watford’s £45million asking price.

Worryingly, he has twice scored against Harry Maguire and Luke Shaw in Watford wins against Manchester United at Vicarage Road and netted a crucial penalty against Ecuador to book Senegal’s place in the knockout stages.

El Hadji Diouf, part of the Senegal team that beat holders France at the 2002 World Cup, does not think his side will have an inferiority complex because they have players from the second tier.

‘He is a world-class player. He can play for Manchester United and Liverpool, anywhere,’ he said.

‘People have spoken badly about African football. We are changing history. Senegalese people are not scared of anyone and that is our mentality against England.’

World Cup 2022

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2022-12-04T08:00:00.0000000Z

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