DEFENDING champions Senegal have to show that having won the Africa Cup of Nations with players playing in the biggest European leagues they can now triumph with those competing in the Saudi championship, said head coach Aliou Cisse.
Cisse on Friday selected a quintet of stars who were pivotal to their maiden Africa Cup of Nations success in 2022 but who now ply their trade in Saudi Arabia.
Previously Cisse had refused to select players playing there due to the low quality of the league in comparison to the European leagues.
However, stars of the calibre of talismanic forward Sadio Mane, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy and centreback Kalidou Koulibaly have moved there once the Saudis loosened the purse strings this year.
“We showed we were capable of winning the title when we had players in the major European championships,” Cisse told a press conference.
“Now we also must show we can win it with players who play in Saudi Arabia.”
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy (Al Ahli/KSA), Seny Dieng (Middlesbrough/ENG), Mory Diaw (Clermont/FRA).
Defenders: Kalidou Koulibaly (Al-Hilal/KSA), Abdou Diallo (Al-Arabi/QAT), Abdoulaye Seck (Maccabi Haifa/ISR), Abdoulaye Niakhate (Troyes/FRA), Moussa Niakhate (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Fode Ballo Toure (Fulham/ENG), Youssouf Sabaly (Real Betis/ESP), Ismail Jackobs (Monaco/FRA), Formose Mendy (Lorient/FRA).
Midfielders: Nampalys Mendy (Lens/FRA), Idrissa Gueye (Everton/ENG), Pape Sarr (Tottenham/ENG), Pape Gueye (Marseille/FRA), Krepin Diatta (Monaco/FRA), Pathe Ciss (Rayo Vallecano/ESP), Cheikhou Kouyate (Nottingham Forest/ENG), Lamine Camara (Metz/FRA).
Forwards: Sadio Mane (Al Nassr/KSA), Habibou Diallo (Al Shabab), Iliman Ndiaye (Marseille/FRA), Ismaila Sarr (Marseille/FRA), Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea/ENG), Boulaye Dia (Salernitana/ITA), Abdallah Sima (Rangers/SCO).
