Tony Adams claims Koulibaly will be Senegal's downfall in clash with England

Former Arsenal and England defender Tony Adams has suggested England can expose Kalidou Koulibaly one-v-one in their last-16 clash with Senegal on Sunday.

England set up a clash with Senegal through comprehensively beating Wales 3-0 on Tuesday evening. Aliou Cisse's side had finished second in Group A behind Holland.

Writing in The Sun, Adams said that Koulibaly was not a defender who sought to work within the confines of a tightly knit unit, and while he was a good player, Senegal's apparent lack of team cohesion bodes well for England.

'I’m certain there will be plenty of opportunities, particularly from set-plays, because, having studied our opponents, it’s quite clear that, while they are a group of very talented individuals, they are not a team,' Adams wrote.

'Defensively, Senegal are poorly organised. I’m looking at Chelsea’s Kalidou Koulibaly and, although he has ability, he plays for himself and doesn’t organise the men around him.

'His relationship with keeper Edouard Mendy, another Chelsea player, seems to be non-existent.

'Mendy is a fantastic goalkeeper but he makes mistakes — you only have to look at the two he threw in against the Dutch.'

'As a defence, you have to make play predictable, you have to be solid and you have to work together, making sure there’s no holes, communicating with your keeper, your full-backs and your midfield,' he added.

'Koulibaly will get exposed one v one without the help he needs around him and that’s when the likes of Marcus Rashford can exploit him.'

Adams then offered up an anecdote from his Arsenal days - with Arsene Wenger leaving him embarrassed by exposing him against the pace of Thierry Henry.

'I remember our old Arsenal boss Arsene Wenger getting us to do one v ones in training using the whole pitch,' he wrote.

'There was a lightning-quick Thierry Henry against me. I’ve got no full-backs or midfield in front of me and Thierry, with his space and skill, just went past me.

'I walked in and said to Arsene: 'Don’t ever do that to me again. I’ve spent my whole career playing so I don’t get into that situation by working with the rest of the defence.'

'That was how I was so successful, making sure the unit was always solid and no one was left isolated.'

The defender, who led England out at Euro 1996, warned Gareth Southgate's side that they would have to look out for the unpredictability of Senegal.

'The only thing that’s predictable about Senegal is that they’re unpredictable,' he wrote.

'They are very inventive and flamboyant and have a lot of talent but, while they will score goals, they’ll always let them in.'