He may be only 24 but Ismaila Sarr already has already played at a World Cup Finals and is an African Cup of Nations winner.
The Watford forward played the full 90 minutes in each of Senegal’s three group games in Russia in 2018.
They finished level with Japan on four points, and both nations had identical goal differences, goals scored and goals conceded, and they drew 2-2 when they met – but Japan advanced to the knockout phase as they amassed four yellow cards compared to Senegal's six.
They had better fortunes earlier this year when they won AFCON for the first time by beating Egypt on penalties in the final after the game had ended 0-0.
Now Sarr and his teammates are looking to take that AFCON form into the World Cup in Qatar.
“Obviously we played very well at AFCON 2021, and we need to carry those good performances into the World Cup,” he said.
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“We can’t think about winning AFCON because we must focus on the World Cup, but we can use what we did there as a stimulus to perform well in Qatar.
“This is my second World Cup and we have a squad that I am very happy to be part of. The squad is strong and very ready to go Qatar and try to do the best we can.”
The Senegal squad for the World Cup Finals was only announced last week.
“I got the message when I was at home, which confirmed I was going to the World Cup,” explained Sarr.
“I just had a feeling of a lot of happiness. I want to play in every big competition I can.
“I was very happy to be called up to the national team once again. I really can’t wait to go and play in the World Cup. To play in a major tournament is the dream of every player and so I am very happy.”
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Senegal are in group A, with the hosts Qatar, Ecuador and Holland, and it is the Dutch that Sarr will face first on Monday November 21 (which is live on ITV at 4pm).
“We’re in a good group full of good countries who have many good players,” said Sarr.
“But Senegal also have good players and our aim is to go there, play well and then do better than we did in 2018.
“We’re going there to try and make history for ourselves, but also for all the generations of footballers from Senegal.”
Sarr was just four years old when Senegal first qualified for a World Cup Finals, where they shocked everyone by beating France before drawing with Uruguay and Denmark to finish second in their group.
In the knockout phase they beat Sweden 2-1 courtesy of a golden goal from Henri Camara in extra time before they were beaten 1-0 by Turkey in the quarter-finals, courtesy of another extra time golden goal.
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“I can’t remember the 2002 World Cup,” admitted Sarr, “but I’ve watched many videos, and I think it’s good to study videos of players who have played for the Senegal team in previous tournaments.
“I’ve seen how that previous generation of players did and they were a very good team, but then so are the team of 2022. We need to go to Qatar and show what this new generation can do. I remember in 2002 the Senegal team beat France so we need to try and do something similar.”
Manager Slaven Bilic had picked Sarr in all his starting XIs since joining the club before he began on the bench at Bristol City on Saturday, and paid tribute to the fact the forward had only been substituted three times in that run of 10 games.
“The manager kept telling me that I needed to keep working hard to get my place in the World Cup squad, and he and the players have supported me.
“What I try to do is to work hard for Watford and for Senegal, because playing well for Watford helps keep my spot in the national team.”
There has been a major injury scare for Senegal with key man Sadio Mane limping off in the first half of Bayern Munich’s recent 6-1 win over Werder Bremen in the Bundesliga.
The former Liverpool player missed Bayern’s game with Schalke at the weekend due to what has been described as an 'injury to head of his right tibula', and his absence would be a major blow to Senegal. Would that place extra pressure upon Sarr?
“I wouldn’t say so as we go out on the pitch and play as a team,” he replied.
“It’s not all about one player because we play as a collective. Of course, I wish Sadio Mane a good and quick recovery, but we go there as a team. I hope he can come back though, as we do need him for the competition.
“There are many very good players in the Senegal squad. Of course, Sadio would be a huge loss because he is our country’s best player, but we have many other good players in the squad.”
And what does Sarr hope to achieve at the 2022 World Cup Finals?
“My ambition is to go out there and help us win as many games as possible, score as many goals as I can but also give as many assists as I can to my teammates. We want to go through the group stage and then see what happens after that.”
To see a video of Ismaila Sarr's interview, go to https://youtu.be/iNM_DJWA7tE
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