The coach of Senegal’s Teranga Lions Aliou Cisse has used a press conference in Dakar on Thursday to release a list of 24 players chosen to play the first two qualifiers for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations tournament to be hosted by Cameroon.
By Ibrahima Dione
Senegal will play Congo on November 13 at Lat Dior stadium in Thies (70 km east of Dakar) before taking on eSwatini four days later.
For these two matches, Coach Cisse has almost kept faith in the group that recently held Brazil to a 1-1 draw in a friendly in Singapore.
Defender Pape Djibril Diaw (Angers, France) and forward Diao Balde Keita (Monaco, France) are the only players missing from the squad ahead of the double header.
Forward Mame Baba Thiam who plays in Turkey and central defenders Naby Sarr and Moussa Ndiaye have been called to the squad for the first time.
Trained at Olympique Lyonnais (France), Naby Sarr is the son of former Senegalese international Boubacar Sarr “Locotte”. Born on August 13, 1993 in Marseille (France).
This towering player (1.96 meter for 94 kg) who played alongside Alphonse Areola and Paul Pogba, won the U20 World Cup with France in 2013.
Moussa Ndiaye reaped the fruits of his brilliant performances with Senegal’s youth teams.
This home-based player was named best player of the last edition of the Africa Under-20 Cup.
The Teranga Lions’ training camp begins on November 10 in Saly (88 km east of Dakar).
The team list is as follows:
Goalkeepers (3): Abdoulaye Diallo (Gençlerbirligi, Turkey), Alfred Gomis (Dijon, France) and Edouard Mendy (Rennes, France).
Defenders (8): Moussa Wague (FC Barcelona, Spain), Lamine Gassama (Göztepe Spor Kulübü, Turkey), Salif Sane (Schalke 04, Germany), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli, Italy), Saliou Ciss (Nancy, France), Racine Coly (Nice, France), Naby Sarr (Charlton Athletic FC, England) and Moussa Ndiaye (Excellence Foot Dakar, Senegal).
Midfielders (6): Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace, England), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Sidy Sarr (Nimes, France), Pape Alioune Ndiaye (Stoke City, England), Krepin Diatta (FC Bruges, Belgium) and Mamadou Loum Ndiaye (FC Porto, Portugal).
Attackers (7) : Famara Diedhiou (Bristol City, England), Ismaila Sarr (Watford, England), Sada Thioub (Angers, France), Sadio Mane (Liverpool, England), Habib Diallo (FC Metz, France), Mbaye Niang (Rennes, France) and Mame Baba Thiam (Kasimpasa Spor Kulübü, Turkey).
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