England achieved the bare minimum at the 2022 World Cup by winning Group B over the USA, Iran, and Wales. The next obstacle in the way of Gareth Southgate’s troops is Senegal. The Africans are on an upward swing in Qatar, but can they match a strong England side in terms of quality? Let’s ask FIFA 23.
Senegal qualified for the round of 16 through a clutch victory against an undefeated Ecuador side at the time. While Ecuador is certainly not of the same breed of difficulty as England, that performance at least demonstrated that the Senegalese are in Qatar to fight.
England, on the other hand, played a couple of great games against Iran and Wales but was as bland as a white sheet of paper vs. the U.S. This is a somewhat alarming trend as Senegal is much closer in class to the Americans than they are to the two minnows England dismantled.
If we’re going by pure FIFA 23 numbers, however, the English should be strolling on Sunday. The average rating of England’s 2022 World Cup squad is 83, compared to Senegal’s 78. Looking at the two nations’ most recent starting lineups illustrates this difference quite clearly.
The FIFA 23 World Cup player ratings for Senegal
- GK: Édouard Mendy – 86 OVR
- RB: Youssouf Sabaly – 79 OVR
- CB: Kalidou Koulibaly – 87 OVR
- CB: Abdou Diallo – 80 OVR
- LB: Ismail Jakobs – 72 OVR
- CM: Pathé Ciss – 73 OVR
- CM: Pape Gueye – 79 OVR
- CM: Idrissa Gueye – 83 OVR
- RW: Iliman Ndiaye – 69 OVR
- LW: Ismaïla Sarr – 80 OVR
- ST: Boulaye Dia – 81 OVR
The FIFA 23 World Cup player ratings for England
- GK: Jordan Pickford – 83 OVR
- RB: Kyle Walker – 85 OVR
- CB: John Stones – 84 OVR
- CB: Harry Maguire – 82 OVR
- LB: Luke Shaw – 81 OVR
- CM: Jude Bellingham – 84 OVR
- CM: Declan Rice – 84 OVR
- CM: Jordan Henderson – 84 OVR
- RW: Phil Foden – 85 OVR
- LW: Marcus Rashford – 84 OVR
- ST: Harry Kane – 89 OVR
The potential for an upset lies in Senegal’s defense. The two best players on the team are the goalkeeper and a center-back, which could prove to be crucial in a match where Senegal is expected to defend most of the time. Sarr and Dia have proven they can knock them in when it counts, so underestimation should be the last thing on England’s mind. Even then, the all-around quality of Southgate’s squad should pull the English to the next round, or at least that’s what FIFA 23 player ratings lead us to believe.
