London - Arabstoday
Following their unexpected, but deserved win over Uruguay at Wembley on Sunday, Senegal return to the home of English football where they delighted so many fans with their attacking display. Yet Mexico are sure to have a wonderful following of their own on Saturday and boast a defence which is yet to concede a goal in 270 minutes at London 2012. It could well be a case of the irresistible force of Senegal meeting the immovable object of Mexico. The match Mexico-Senegal, Wembley Stadium, London, Saturday 4 August, 14.30 (local time) The stakes A place in the semi-finals of London 2012 is on offer for the winners of Mexico-Senegal with the added incentive of not moving from Wembley. While Mexico were winners of Group B, and arguably favourites, it is almost too close to call given Senegal’s impressive showings against Great Britain, Uruguay and United Arab Emirates. The stat 4 – Together with Egypt’s Mohamed Salah, Senegal’s Moussa Konate scored in every single group game, a feat last achieved by Poland’s Andrzej Juskoviak in 1992. But Konate has notched one more than Salah in this tournament, making him London 2012’s leading scorer. The 19-year-old started his playing career with Senegalese second division side ASC Toure Kunda de Mbour, helping them to win promotion to the top-flight and the country’s FA Cup in 2010. In the spring of 2011, Konate went to Israel for a month’s trial with Maccabi Tel Aviv, impressing enough to earn a permanent deal. The words \"We are where we are because we are playing united as a team. We are playing with intensity and with a big desire to do well in this competition. Now we will keep taking things step by step. We are all looking forward to living in the Olympic Village. I have never been to one in my life and I\'m sure it will be an extraordinary experience. The fact that we are also going to play at Wembley is very special,” Hiram Mier, Mexico midfielder. \"I am incredibly happy and very proud. No-one had really expected us to come this far and it is a first for Senegal. To qualify was great, but to get out of such a hard group, where we have teams like Great Britain and Uruguay, and to reach this far without losing is fantastic.\" Aliou Cisse, Senegal coach. From : Fifa