By Amy Tennery
EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J., June 15 (Reuters) - Senegal coach Pape Thiaw was a player on the sidelines 24 years ago when his country beat France 1-0 in a shock result at the World Cup - now, he is ready to step into the driver's seat when the two sides meet in a highly anticipated rematch.
Senegal open their campaign against France on Tuesday in World Cup Group I which will be an uncomfortable feeling of deja vu for Les Bleus, whose opening loss to the African powerhouse in 2002 preceded
a disastrous early exit from the tournament.
For Thiaw, who now stands at the helm for Senegal, the game in East Rutherford, New Jersey, provides a full-circle moment.
"Tomorrow I will be on the bench and it's a bit special. I was also on the bench in 2002 because I could not play and tomorrow I will be on the bench too but I will be given the keys," he told reporters via an interpreter on Monday.
Senegal, who were controversially stripped of their Africa Cup of Nations title earlier this year, are hungry to prove they are the true champions of the continent, as African football makes inroads on the world's biggest stage with Morocco's historic run to the semi-final four years ago.
"African football has changed a lot in recent years. We saw it at the last World Cup ... it's not a surprise anymore," said Thiaw. "Is it a surprise if Senegal beats France? Well, no, because we have world class players."
Senegal have qualified for the last three World Cups and Thiaw said his team were all fit and ready for action.
He sidestepped political questions on multiple occasions at Monday's press conference, saying he would rather "stick to sports." But politics was nearly impossible to ignore ahead of the match between Senegal and their former colonial rulers.
Video footage showing Senegal players being screened by U.S. airport security went viral earlier this month, and the country's football federation moved quickly to tamp down accusations of discriminatory treatment.
Senegalese supporters were denied visas to attend the tournament in the U.S., according to media reports last week, a result of U.S. President Donald Trump's travel restrictions, prompting one reporter to question whether it was fair for the team to play without fans in the stands.
"Of course we would like to have our fans, we know what they can do for us," said Thiaw. "But we have a major Senegalese community (in the U.S.) and we know the Senegalese are very patriotic ... you will see this tomorrow. You won't even believe it that no Senegalese came over from Senegal."
Senegal play France at 3 p.m. ET (1900 GMT) on Tuesday before facing Norway and Iraq.
(Reporting by Amy Tennery in New York, Editing by Ken Ferris)
