Senegal’s Mendy, Mane Set For AFCON 2021
- After Chelsea, Liverpool draw 2-2 at Stamford Bridge
Liverpool striker Sadio Mane and Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy have departed England to link up with their Senegal teammates for the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) starting in Cameroon on Sunday, January 9, 2022.
The two African stars featured for their clubs in Sunday’s top-flight match at Stamford Bridge. Mendy was in goal for the Blues during their 2-2 Premier League draw with Liverpool on Sunday while Mane scored the opening goal for the visitors with his ninth-minute strike at Stamford Bridge.
A few hours after the match in London, Mendy shared a post of himself and the 2019 African Footballer of the Year on board a plane to Senegal as they shift their attention to the continental tournament.
Both players are integral figures in the Senegalese national team and their arrival is expected to boost Aliou Cisse’s team ahead of their departure to Cameroon this week.
Presently camped in Thies with training sessions at the Lat Dior Stadium, the West Africans have Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, PSG’s Idrissa Gueye, and Marseille’s Pape Gueye among the players already in camp.
Nicknamed ‘the Lions of Teranga’, the Senegalese are in Group B with Guinea, Zimbabwe, and Malawi. However, they will kick off their campaign in Cameroon against Zimbabwe at the Bafoussam Omnisport Stadium on Monday, January 10, 2022.
The Teranga Lions are yet to win the AFCON title in their history but they will aim to better their performance in the 2019 edition when they finished as runners-up after losing 1-0 to Algeria in the final. – Goal.com
