Fiery Juve defender Benatia to lead Morocco’s hopes
Fiery Juventus defender Medhi Benatia took centre stage Thursday as Morocco coach Herve Renard named his 23-man squad for the World Cup. Benatia, fresh from helping Juventus to the Italian league-cup double, is one of 19 players in the squad who ply their trade in Europe. Morocco last played at the World Cup in 1998.
Morocco squad Goalkeepers: Mounir El Kajoui, Yassine Bounou, Ahmad R Tagnaouti. Defenders: Medhi Benatia, Romain Saiss, Manuel Da Costa, Badr Benoun, Nabil Dirar, Achraf Hakimi, Hamza Mendyl. Midfielders: M’barek Boussoufa, Karim El Ahmadi, Youssef Ait Bennasser, Sofyan Amrabat, Younes
Belhanda, Faycal Fajr, Amine Harit, Nordin Amrabat.
Forwards: Khalid Boutaib, Aziz Bouhaddouz, Ayoub El Kaabi, Mehdi Carcela, Hakim Ziyech.
LIVERPOOL’S MANE IN SENEGAL SQUAD
DAKAR: Liverpool forward Sadio Mane will lead Senegal’s hopes at their second World Cup appearance
in Russia next month, after coach Aliou Cisse announced his 23-man squad in Dakar on Thursday.
Senegal squad Goalkeepers: Abdoulaye Diallo, Khadim N’Diaye, Alfred Gomis. Defenders: Kalidou Koulibaly, Lamine Gassama, Kara Mbodji, Moussa Wague, Youssouf Sabaly, Saliou Ciss, Salif Sane. Midfielders: Badou Ndiaye, Idrissa Gueye, Cheikhou Kouyate, Cheikh N’Doye, Alfred N’Diaye.
Forwards: Sadio Mane, Keita Balde, Diafra Sakho, Moussa Konate, Ismaila Sarr, M’Baye Niang, Moussa Sow, Mame Biram Diouf.
CUP REJECTION HARD TO TAKE, SAYS HART
LONDON: Joe Hart says his omission from England’s final squad for the World Cup has been “hard
to take”. Writing on his official Instagram page on Friday, he said: “Not going to lie, I’m gutted. After two years of trying to make the most of a really tough situation, this is hard to take.
RUSSIA TO ‘PUNISH’ SEVEN FANS FOR RACISM
PARIS: Seven fans suspected of racially abusing France players Paul Pogba and Ousmane Dembele during a friendly in Saint Petersburg “should be punished”, Russia’s World Cup chief Alexey Sorokin said on Thursday. FIFA fined the Russian football federation 25,000 euros after Manchester United midfielder Pogba and Barcelona winger Dembele were the target of monkey chants during the 3-1 French victory in March.