This Senegal shot-stopper was only wasting his own time with this strange act of simulation.
If a nation can get the job done early in a tournament, they can enjoy the luxury of taking the final group game off. Whether anyone wants to admit it or not, you can afford to coast in that pesky obligatory tie if you’ve already qualified for the knockout stages.
By the same token, if it’s mathematically impossible to qualify with one group game left to play, the motivation to perform may not be there.
When these two types of teams meet, fans are forced to endure one of the least satisfying prospects in the beautiful game – the irrelevant match, the box-ticker.
That’s exactly what we can classify the clash as between Senegal and Algeria in the Africa Cup of Nations on Monday night. With Senegal already guaranteed progression to the next stage and their opponents’ fate of being sent home early sealed before kick-off, the 2-2 scoreline suited the occasion. Sharing the spoils of a match that doesn’t matter just seems fair.
Maybe that idea was swirling around Khadim N’Diaye’s dome when he decided to engage in some unbelievable timewasting tactics in the 11th hour of the game. A late Algeria winner wouldn’t have changed the standings at all, but that didn’t stop the keeper from running down the clock by tripping himself during his run up for a goal-kick.
https://twitter.com/AntMcfc_/status/823634524483555329?ref_src=twsrc%5Etfw
This may be the last time we see N’Diaye in the tournament as he’s likely to be replaced by first-choice Abdoulaye Diallo against Cameroon in the quarter-finals on Saturday. His stint between the sticks may have been brief, but my God was it memorable.
