The manager of Senegal’s national football team, Aliou Cisse, on Wednesday March 17, unveiled his list for the qualifiers for the Africa Cup of Nations Cameroon 2022.
Coach Cisse, the former captain of the country’s 2002 team that reached the AfCON final and the World Cup quarterfinals), did not face the press for the publication of the list due to the health situation.
In defense, the coach calls for the first time Abdoulaye Seck, Abdou Diallo and Fode Ballo Toure.
In the midfield, Nampalys Mendy and Papa Matar Sarr are called for their first experience with the ‘Teranga’ Lions. As for the attack, Youssouph Badji joins the squad, after he played in the U20 team, while Mbaye Diagne makes his comeback.
Senegal’s Lions, which have already secured their qualification for the AfCON final tournament, will travel to Brazzaville to take on Congo’s ‘Diables Rouges’ (Red Devils) on March 26 before playing host to Eswatini on March 30 in Thies (70 kilometers east of Dakar).
Aliou Cisse’s group “will leave Paris, France for Brazzaville on Monday March 22,” the Senegalese Football Association (FSF) said. However, some players may not join the group, the call due to the Covid-19 pandemic. Some European clubs have already refused to let their players go to the planned qualifiers.
The list of the selected players is as follows:
Goalkeepers (3): Edouard Mendy, Chelsea FC (England), Alfred Gomis, Stade de Rennes (France) and Bingourou Camara, RC Strasbourg (France).
Defenders (9): Abdoulaye Seck, Royal Antwerp (Belgium), Ousseynou Ba, Olympiakos (Greece), Kalidou Koulibaly, Naples (Italy), Cheikhou Kouyate, Crystal Palace (England), Pape Abdou Cisse, AS Saint-Etienne (France) , Abdou Diallo, Paris Saint-Germain (France), Youssouf Sabaly, Bordeaux (France), Saliou Ciss, AS Nancy (France) and Fode Ballo Toure, AS Monaco (France)
Midfielders (6): Idrissa Gana Gueye, Paris Saint-Germain (France), Moustapha Name, Paris FC (France), Franck Kanoute, Cercle Bruges (Belgium), Krepin Diatta, AS Monaco (France), Nampalys Mendy, Leicester City FC (England) and Papa Matar Sarr, FC Metz (France).
Forwards (8): Ismaila Sarr, Watford FC (England), Sadio Mane, Liverpool FC (England), Boulaye Dia, Reims FC (France), Youssouph Badji, Club Bruges (Belgium), Famara Diedhiou, Bristol Rovers FC (England) , Keita Diao Balde, Sampdoria (Italy), Mbaye Diagne, West Bromwich Albion (England) and Mame Baba Thiam, Fenerbahçe SK (Turkey).
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