Sadio-less Senegal Still Has Bite At Qatar 2022
Twenty years after shaking world football by reaching the quarterfinals, Senegal is at the Qatar 2022 FIFA World Cup without star player Sadio Mane. However, the Lions of Teranga can still inflict a lethal bite in Qatar. Coach Aliou Cisse has an awarding winning goalkeeper, one the best defenders on the planet, a plethora of creative midfielders, and potent attackers at his disposal to make yet another telling World Cup appearance.
At 30, Edward Mendy has been rewarded for his heroics between the sticks by being named The Best FIFA Men’s Goalkeeper. From his time at Reims of France to his current stint at Chelsea in the English Premier League, Mendy has made match-winning saves and title-winning performances. He was rock solid for Senegal on the way to winning the Africa Cup of Nations. Blessed with a reassuring presence and big frame, Mendy is a big part of why Senegal let in very few goals.
Mendy’s club teammate, Kalidou Koulibaly, is one the best defenders in world football, and it is no surprise that Cisse entrusted the captain’s armband to him in 2019. Koulibaly’s pitch decision-making is excellent and well-complimented by awesome man-making abilities. He is also adept at playing from the back. Koulibaly’s performance in Qatar will be the rock on which Senegal’s progress is built.
Cisse can count on Idrissa Gueye and Africa Cup Nations star Nampalys Mendy in the middle of the park. Mendy has certainly come into his own with that five-star showing in Cameroon earlier this year. He has the pace and strength to drive the Senegal engine when going forward while employing great ball-winning skills when the team is in defence mode. Gueye, who has maintained his great form for club and country over the past couple of years, has the wonderful ability to change the tempo of an entire match.
IIiman Ndiaye, Krepin Diatta, and Ismaila Sarr will lead the Lions of Taranga’s attack in the absence of the injured Mane. 22-year-old Ndiaye could be the trump card for Cisse at this World Cup. He is Senegal’s most versatile player and can play just about any position on the pitch. Ndiaye packs a thunderous shot with either foot and will be a handful for the other three defences in the group. Sarr is so good his club would not even let him join Senegal for the Africa Cup of Nations. Diatta is a natural in front of the goal.
So even without his talisman, Aliou Cisse can confidently send his lions into battle with the hope of going further than Bruno Metsu did in Korea/Japan 2002.
