Palace boss Patrick Vieira has extra reason to be interested in England-Senegal World Cup encounter

BY ANDREW MCSTEEN

This weekend, the FIFA World Cup in Qatar entered its knockout phase and one particularly interested party will be the 1998 FIFA World Cup winner with France and Crystal Palace boss – the Senegal-born Patrick Vieira.

France, Senegal and England are all in last 16 action on Sunday with England facing Senegal and France facing Poland.

The African champions feature a number of players from the Diambars FC academy in Saly, Senegal – set up by Vieira in 2003.

“We are proud and really happy to have those players who managed to make it but there is a nice story behind that and we need more time to talk about it,” said the 1998 FIFA World Cup winner about the trio of players who had graduated from Diambars to the Senegal national team.

“Everybody will expect France and England to be in a quarter-final, but there’s a reality on the field,” added Vieira about the possibility of France facing England in the quarter-finals should they both win.

“Until then, England and France will face two different challenges, but two tough ones. It’s not going to be easy for England and it’s not going to be easy for France. It can be a quarter-final between those two nations and [if so] I know who I am going to support already.”

So have Vieira and his backroom staff changed the routines at their Beckenham training ground to watch the games?

“The games are on in the canteen and everybody is watching. This is our job and we love watching football but we don’t adapt [around it] at the training ground,” said Vieira to the South London Press.

“[If] it will be France vs England in the quarter-final, we will do it [then], we will we make it [happen].”