moscow at 42 aliou cisse is the youngest coach in world cup 2018 and also the only black coachalso read lewandowski v mane as poland brace for senegal testwhen this was pointed out during the prematch press conference at the moscow spartak stadium ahead of senegals opening match against poland and cisse was asked whether any prejudice exists against african coaches being employed by african teams because he is the sole representative in russia the smile vanished from his face for a few secondsrecovering soon after cisse spoke his brief with firm composure it is true that i am the only black coach among the 32 participating teams in russia the black coach debate disturbs me football is a universal sport where the colour of the skin carries very little importance it is good to see a black coach walking in the technical area during a world cup matchfootball doesnt need the colour of skin it is not played by the colour of skin and the colour of skin doesnt have any place in the game i represent a new generation of african coaches we have the right credentials and we deserve the position that we are in said the former senegal captain who led the nation during its maiden world cup campaign in 2002 they famously defeated champions france in their first game and eventually reached the quarterfinalsschedule points tablethe debate returned to robert lewandowski after the brief and unwanted detour the coach dreadlocked and smiling said we all know how dangerous robert is his record speaks for itself we do not have a plan to stop him but we definitely have a strategy to get the better of polandasked about sadio mane senegals biggest star currently cisse said that the liverpool striker has the quality to turn the game around in a moment his biggest asset is his unpredictability at any point he can make the difference with a dribble and pass so for me he is already one of the best playershe added sadio is a unique player and he cant be compared to any other senegal player even if weve had some major ones in the past hes unique and despite everything that has occurred to him in the last two or three years he hasnt changed hes just as humble as the first time i met him six years ago at the olympics his mentality hasnt changed his behaviour towards the staff and his humility is the same so hes a player who can bring a lot to the teamthree other representatives from africa egypt morocco and nigeria lost their opening encounters but cisse feels it will not create much pressure on senegal we are the best african team and we are looking forward to create an impression in the first game