Sadio Mane On The Way to AFCON 2022 Best Player
Senegal isn’t the only quarter-finalist who has elicited more yawns than thrills among those who are closely following the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
Egypt is at least as dull to watch, and the Lions of the Teranga’s next opponent, Equatorial Guinea, does not exemplify the spirit of attacking football.
However, there is a significant difference between Egypt and Senegal on the one hand, and Equatorial Guinea on the other: the first two are major African football players.
Senegal’s internationals in Cameroon include players from the greatest European clubs:
Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy, Bayern Munich’s Bouna Sarr, Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, Paris-Abdou SG’s Diallo and Idrissa Gueye, AC Milan’s Fodé Ballo-Touré, and Marseille’s Pape Gueye and Bamba Dieng are all based in Marseille.
Despite their talent in the team, the Lions struggled in the first round, only advancing to the second round thanks to a last-minute penalty by Sadio Mané against Zimbabwe (1-0).
Senegalese fans have shown their dissatisfaction with the 0-0 draws against Guinea and Malawi.
Mané Being at his best, he Will make a difference
Sadio Mané is clearly the strongest link in this group, even if, as Coly points out, “he can’t do everything by himself.” The Liverpool attacking midfielder scored again against Cape Verde, and his performance will influence how long the Teranga Lions stay in Cameroon.
“He has demonstrated that he is engaged and that the squad can rely on him.” Senegal will be stronger if Mané does well. And with knockout matches, which Mané, as well as players from big European clubs, are used to, Senegal will benefit from this experience,” says Coly.
“The better Mané performs, the stronger Senegal will be,” Ndour adds. “With knockout matches, which Mané, as well as players from top European clubs, are used to, this experience of high-level matches will be very crucial, starting on Sunday.”
Mané has returned to training after suffering a head injury in the encounter against Cape Verde, despite requests in England for him to be excused from the quarter-finals.
This should not be the case, as the player and medical personnel have both given their approval. Senegal will play the winner of Burkina Faso-Tunisia in the semi-final on February 2 in Yaoundé if he qualifies.