DOHA, Qatar — Edouard Mendy has had to change his routine at the start of the World Cup.
It won’t be Sadio Mane that he meets first for breakfast every morning during the World Cup in the Al Duhail Complex where the Senegal squad is staying during the tournament. The Chelsea goalkeeper and the Bayern Munich forward have their shared habits and little routines: before the African Cup of Nations that Senegal eventually won earlier this year, they even flew to national team duty together by private jet.
Like Mendy, every single player in the squad will miss Mane in one way or another. The younger players see him as an icon and a model, a different kind of relationship than the Bayern star has with Mendy or even Kalidou Koulibaly, who considers Mane as more of a brother. But the former Liverpool star always has a word and some time for all the players, regardless of their status or experience.
On Thursday, midfielder Pape Gueye summed up the mood in the Senegal camp regarding the absence of their No. 10. “It changes everything. … Every time he touches the ball, the opponent thinks there is danger coming, and it frees some space for others. When he talks in the dressing room, everyone listens. He is irreplaceable.”
It explains why Senegal coach Aliou Cisse decided on Thursday, once Mane’s withdrawal was announced, to officially keep Mane in the squad and not replace him or even take his name out of the squad list; the players and staff agreed. There is even a possibility, depending on how long Senegal remain in the World Cup — and how his rehabilitation goes following a knee operation — that Mane could maybe come to support his teammates from the touchline.
However, the corridors of Senegal’s home base, a big residence located in the suburbs of Doha and built a few years ago for the Handball World Cup, is still full of happiness, joy and music. They will never lose that spirit, which is one of their greatest strengths. The African champions have brought a big delegation to Doha, with 25 players and 29 additional staff. Each player was also allowed to invite two guests for the duration of the World Cup so they could see their families regularly and be more relaxed, while 150 fans have been invited by the federation and will bring additional support in every game.
Speaking of the game, Senegal’s Group A opener is just around the corner and the squad (and Cisse) have switched their focus to preparing for the Netherlands, whom they’ll play Monday. This might be the biggest game of the group and could have a massive impact on the rest of the competition already in terms of who advances. The training sessions have been intense, and in Mane’s absence, there are several players with a point to prove.
Start with the leaders: it’s fair to say that the likes of Mendy, Koulibaly and Idrissa Gueye are not having their best seasons. Emerging stars like like Krepin Diatta, Ismaila Sarr or Nicolas Jackson — the latter has been one of LaLiga’s breakouts this season at Villarreal — will bring a lot to the team. But Cisse, 46, who took over as manager in March 2015 and has just extended his deal until June 2024, has built a resilient mentality within his squad.
“We believe in ourselves,” Cisse told the media ahead of their first game.
“We remember what happened in the last World Cup and the disappointment [Senegal was knocked out via the fair play tiebreaker after receiving more yellow cards than Japan, who advanced as the second-place team in their group] and it is driving us in this edition to make at least the last 16,” says Koulibaly, who will captain this team in Doha.
Many fans see Senegal, even without Mane, as a team that could make a run through this competition given the bracket, but it will require focus. In all his sadness of missing this World Cup, Mane sent a message to the team before he departed, with the goal of getting them even more united and ready for their first game. It’s all down to them without him from here. – africa espn
