Lack of mental strength cost Senegal last 16 spot: Senegal punished just as other reps for lacking in mental resources

Senegal's midfielder Idrissa Gana Gueye and Senegal's defender Kara Mbodji (R) react at the end of the Russia 2018 World Cup Group H football match between Senegal and Colombia at the Samara Arena in Samara on June 28, 2018. / AFP PHOTO

Bystander Gueye’s attitude reflects Africa’s troubled psyche in big games.

A viral clip showing Senegal’s Idrissa Gana Gueye leaning on the goalpost as Colombia’s Yeri Mina powered home a header will provide a talking point for those who argue that African teams lack requisite psychological, nay, tactical discipline to win the Fifa World Cup.

Pele’s much publicised prophecy that an African team could win the Fifa World Cup not in a distant future looked ever increasingly a pipe dream after the continent’s five representatives were dumped out at the first round stage.

‏Immediately after the game, one viewer @tolumoteni tweeted: “Isn’t this Idrissa Gueye? Shocking attitude in a game of your life! I couldn’t believe my eyes, and I still can’t.”

That is the point – ‘a game of your life’. In a flash coach Aliou Cisse’s brilliant tactical set up that threw Colombia off balance went up in smoke.

Failing to understand the import of a game and staying focused, maintain the requisite tactical discipline and temperament is the Achilles heel of African football at least on the pitch.

We have not even mentioned off it.

In an interview with BBC just before the World Cup, former Ivory Coast coach Sven Goran Erikson recalled how Didier Drogba told him it was not possible for an African team to go far at the tournament.

“When I first started to coach Ivory Coast I said to Didier Drogba: ‘We have some fantastic players and we can go far in the World Cup.’ He said: ‘No we can’t’.”

Erikson goes on to share Drogba’s brutal assessment thus: “I could say we’ll have a team in the semi-finals but that’s not the reality. We’re still behind the top teams.”

The Chelsea and Ivory Coast legend went on to tell Erikson on African player’s downside of psychological aspects of the game.

Which brings us to the point; Did Idrissa Gana Gueye know the significance of the game with a Poland versus Japan fixture going on in Samara, Russia, in mind?

Senegal just needed to hold out for a draw of whatever kind and they would be into the second round.

After going behind to that Mina goal, Senegal went on the offensive, but by then Colombia had switched on their mental faculties and goalkeeper David Ospina was unflappable try as Mbaye Niang and Ismaila Sarr did. The shop was shut.

Poland, although eliminated having lost 2-0 to Senegal and 3-0 to Colombia yet found the mental resources to beat Japan via Jan Bednarek’s goal.

In the end, Senegal went out of the competition through an unwanted piece of record, the Fair Play Rule. Senegal incurred six yellow cards against Japan’s four.