Mendy & Mane headline Senegal squad for Zambia & Cape Verde friendlies

The Senegal senior national team has named a strong squad to face Zambia and Cape Verde in friendlies next month, with Edouard Mendy and Sadio Mane making the cut.

The Chelsea and Liverpool stars headline the 26-man squad announced on Tuesday by the Senegalese Football Federation.

Also making the squad are Napoli’s Kalidou Koulibaly, Rennes’ Alfred Gomis, Sampdoria’s Keita Balde, Crystal Palace’s Cheikhou Kouyate and Leicester City’s Nampalys Mendy – who recently helped the Foxes silence Chelsea to win the English FA Cup.

Others are Joseph Lopy, who represents Ligue 1 outfit Sochaux, Krepin Diatta’s AS Monaco plus Paris Saint-Germain duo of Idrissa Gueye and Abdou Diallo.

First, the West Africans will take Zambia at the Stade Lat-Dior, Thies on June 5 before trying the Blue Sharks for size three days later at the same venue.

These games are expected to help Aliou Cisse’s team prepare for September’s 2022 Fifa World Cup qualifiers that commence in September.

Senegal would be hoping to appear at the global football showpiece for the third time ever. Nonetheless, they must negotiate their way past Congo, Namibia and Togo in Group H.

For Cape Verde, they are in Group C alongside Gernot Rohr's Nigeria, Central African Republic and Liberia.

Elsewhere, Zambia would be hoping to make their World Cup debut in Qatar. The first step towards achieving that must see them silence Tunisia, Mauritania, and Equatorial Guinea in Group B.

Despite showing promise at the last edition staged in Russia, Cisse’s men crashed out at the group stage. There, they finished in the third position after facing Colombia, Poland and Japan.

FULL LIST

Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea, England), Alfred Gomis (Rennes, France). Seny Dieng (Queens Park Rangers, England), Pape Seydou N'Diaye (ASC Jaaraaf de Dakar, Senegal), Abdoulaye Seck (Royal Antwerp, Belgium)

Defenders: Youssouf Sabaly (Bordeaux, France), Lamine Gassama (Goztepe, Turkey), Abdou Diallo (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli, Italy) Pape Abou Cisse (Saint-Etienne, France), Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace, England).

Midfielders: Saliou Ciss (AS Nancy, France), Idrissa Gueye (Paris Saint-Germain, France), Joseph Lopy (Sochaux, France), Moustapha Name (Paris, France), Krepin Diatta (Monaco, France), Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City, England), Pape Sarr (Metz, France), Sada Thioub (Angers, France)

Forwards: Famara Diédhiou (Bristol City, England), Sadio Mane (Liverpool, England), Keita Balde (Sampdoria, Italy), Habib Diallo (Strasbourg, France)