Haaland problem gives Senegal plenty to ponder

Senegal face a defensive ​conundrum as they prepare to play Norway and their prolific striker Erling Haaland ‌at the World Cupon Monday.

Captain Kalidou Koulibaly returned from injury for Senegal’s opening Group I game against France but was found wanting up against Kylian Mbappe and could be dropped as coach Pape Bouna Thiaw looks ​to counter the threat of Haaland at the New York/New Jersey Stadium.

Senegal have ​been touted as Africa’s best hope at the World Cup but had their ⁠confidence knocked by a 3-1 loss to France in their opening game.

Norway, in contrast, made ​a winning start in their first World Cup game since 1998, with Haaland netting twice in ​a 4-1 victory over Iraq in Boston.

How best to deal with Haaland will have given Thiaw plenty to ponder, particularly whether to persist with Koulibaly or replace him with 20-year-old Mamadou Sarr.

SARR STEPPED IN

When Koulibaly was ​suspended at the African Cup of Nations finals in Morocco, Sarr stepped in and impressed ​before joining Chelsea. At Stamford Bridge, however, he was usually named among the substitutes and his lack ‌of game ⁠time over the last months counted against him when Thiaw finalised the line-up to face France.

The 35-year-old Koulibaly, who has won 104 caps, had played only eight minutes since suffering an injury in training at his Saudi club in April and was well off the pace ​as Mbappe scored twice ​to earn France ⁠a deserved victory.

A win for Norway would guarantee them progress to the last 32, but their build-up has not been without concerns either.

Domestic ​media criticism of Martin Odegaard’s performance against Iraq was batted away by ​his teammates ⁠in the build-up to the match, while coach Stale Solbakken has also said he was not happy with aspects of their performance against Iraq, particularly defence.

Norway, who had a 100% qualification record ⁠but won ​only one of four World Cup warm-up friendlies, have ​kept a single clean sheet in their last eight matches and will be wary of the threat posed by ​Senegal forwards Nicolas Jackson and Sadio Mane.