YEKATERINBURG, Russia — It is disappointing that in a sport full of African players at the highest level, there are just two African coaches at this World Cup: Aliou Cissé of Senegal and Nabil Maaloul of Tunisia.

Only Cissé’s team has been a force so far, with Senegal defeating Poland, 2-1, on Tuesday and then playing to a 2-2 draw with Japan here on Sunday night to keep its share of the lead in Group H.

Senegal’s president, Macky Sall, who attended the Poland match in Moscow, has since returned home. But bigger opportunities await Senegal, beginning with a final group game against Colombia on Thursday. Win or draw and the Lions of Teranga, as the team is nicknamed, are guaranteed to qualify for the round of 16.

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“The most important thing now is to recover because we’re going to have a difficult combat with Colombia,” Cissé said after Sunday’s game. “But we have our destiny in our own hands, on our own feet, really.”