Netherlands captain Virgil van Dijk says the World Cup will be poorer without his former clubmate Sadio Mane, even though the Dutch now face a weaker Senegal side in their Group A opener on Monday.
Senegal talisman Mane was ruled out of the tournament in Qatar late on Thursday after his team doctors re-examined a latest batch of scans of his knee injury, suffered playing in the Bundesliga for new club Bayern Munich earlier this month, and said his recovery could take several months.
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Senegal forward Sadio Mané won’t be part of the FIFA World Cup Qatar 2022 due to an injury. Mané was initially included in the Lions of Teranga squad for the global showpiece.#SABCSportFootball #Sisonke #Qatar2022 pic.twitter.com/uSJY3RTrRk
— SABC Sport (@SABC_Sport) November 18, 2022
Mane was Van Dijk’s teammate at Liverpool up to the end of last season and the pair were set for an on-field reunion as the Netherlands and Senegal kick off their World Cup campaigns at the Al Thumama Stadium.
Van Dijk said ”I am very sorry that Sadio misses the match against us because this World Cup simply deserves the best players, Sadio is one of them. Sadio is world-class, he is my friend and I will miss him.”
The skipper also echoed coach Louis van Gaal’s sentiment from earlier in the week that the Dutch could be strong competitors at the tournament.
He said: ”For me, Argentina, Brazil and France are the favourite countries. The Brazilians are always there. The Argentines are strong and the French have a great selection. We have a good group, we have a very experienced trainer, but above all we have team spirit.”
