Posted by By BEN MEMULETIWON on
With just a win to get to the promised land and, perhaps, declare an all night party, Nigerian-born Togo national team coach, Stephen Keshi, has been warned that the World Cup ticket is not yet in his kitty.
With just a win to get to the promised land and, perhaps, declare an all night party, Nigerian-born Togo national team coach, Stephen Keshi, has been warned that the World Cup ticket is not yet in his kitty.
Bolton Wanderers playmaker, El Hadji Diouf, has vowed that Senegal, now third on the table would turn the apple cart against Togo, which have one home match and one away.
The Former African Footballer of the Year believes Senegal can still qualify for the World Cup finals.
The Teranga Lions are in third place in Group 1, behind leaders Togo and Zambia, with just two matches remaining.
"We are not out of it. There are a lot who forget we came from behind to qualify for the 2002 finals," Diouf told Senegal's Le Soleil newspaper.
He added: "The players are highly motivated to make sure we go to Germany."
A string of uninspiring results led to the sacking of French-born coach Guy Stephan.
Stephan suspended Diouf from the national team last year, after breaking a night-time curfew while preparing for a World Cup match.
Senegal meet Zambia in September and finish their qualifying campaign with a home tie against Mali in October.
Senegal named a new Sports minister, Monday, almost two weeks after his predecessor was sacked, following the national team's weak showing in a World Cup qualifier.
President Abdoulaye Wade named Daouda Faye, a businessman known in Senegal for helping organise the African Nations Cup in the West African country in 1992, for the job.
Wade fired the previous Sports minister, Youssoupha Ndiaye, last month, following heavy criticism of the 2-2 draw with Togo in June 18, which jeopardised Senegal's chances of reaching the 2006 World Cup. The team's French coach Guy Stephan was also sacked.
The draw with Group 1 leaders, Togo, left Senegal third in the standings, two points adrift of their opponents and a point behind Zambia with two matches left in the race to reach next year's finals in Germany.
Only the winners from the five African zone groups will qualify for the finals.
Senegal beat former colonial powers, France, who were the world champions, in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup on their way to the quarter-finals. The victory brought thousands of people on to Dakar's streets, some of them slaughtering chickens in frenzied celebration.