Senegal's headcoach Aliou Cisse reacts during the International Friendly football match between Senegal and Ghana on March 28, 2015 at the Oceane stadium, in Le Havre, northwestern France (AFP)
Senegal’s coach Aliou Cisse has rubbished criticism of his team’s display after their 3-0 win against Madagascar and advancement to the group stage in the African World Cup qualifiers.
"I play the game to win, not to pass the ball around 10 million times without threatening the opposition," Cisse told Senegalese website Wiwsport on Thursday.
"I am proud of my boys and their 3-0 win. That's what’s important for the moment and I hope one day that we could play like Real Madrid and Barcelona together. We must score more goals and also entertain the fans," he added.
The Lions of the Teranga beat Madagascar 5-2 on aggregate but never seemed to dominate the game and struggled in defence.
"We panicked several times at the back and if you want to go far in Africa you have to be strong in defence. We conceded too many goals- in seven matches we conceded seven goals and that's too much. It is a major concern and now we will discuss it to find out if it’s a problem of strategy or individuals," he added.
However, Cisse stressed that he has confidence in the players and confirmed that they should fear no-one in Africa.
"We have a strong team and quality players who play in the top European competitions and we are now working on improving as a team. We need to boost our confidence and fear nobody in Africa. Whoever’s in the group, I’m sure we’ll deliver a great fight to the end to reach the World Cup finals," he concluded.
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