Mane carries Senegal’s World Cup hopes
One fan thumped his chest with his fist. Another raised a Senegalese flag high in the air. Around them, hundreds of others shouted, jumped and darted about in wild celebration. Sadio Mane had scored.
It didn’t matter that Mane’s goal was for Liverpool, not Senegal. Nor that his club would lose to Real Madrid in the Champions League final.
“He’s our leader,” said Samba Ndiaye, 27, who wore a $5 knockoff “Mane” Liverpool jersey to the Champions League final viewing party at Cheikh Anta Diop University in Dakar. “He scores, but he also does things on the field that no one else does. He can make the difference.”
Mane, who left a rural village in southern Senegal as a teenager to find international stardom in Europe, hopes to defy the odds again at the World Cup in Russia.
Senegal has waited 16 years since its World Cup debut, when the 2002 team famously defeated defending champion France on the way to a quarterfinal finish. Now, the West African nation is expecting its shy 26-yearold forward to take Senegal to even greater heights.
While Mane’s club career sparkles — he’s the highest-scoring Senegalese player in English Premier League history — national team results have been mixed. He impressed at the 2012 Olympics, missed the penalty that sent highly rated Senegal home from the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations in a shootout in the quarterfinals, then bounced back to help his country qualify for Russia.
Senegal plays Poland, Japan, and Colombia in Group H at the World Cup.
The 5-foot-8 wing also said he doesn’t feel pressure.
“Honestly, I don’t know the word pressure, because football is my job,” Mane said. “I always enjoy it.”
Argentina loses midfielder: Argentina midfielder Manuel Lanzini, a 25-year-old starter who plays for West Ham in the EPL, has torn a ligament in his right knee that will keep him out of the World Cup.
Lanzini was injured while the team trained in Barcelona, Spain, on Friday. Argentina opens its World Cup campaign next week against Iceland in Moscow.
Germany wins final tuneup: Defending World Cup champion Germany defeated Saudi Arabia 2-1 in Leverkusen, Germany, in a friendly.
Having failed to win any of its previous five friendly games since wrapping up qualification with 10 wins in 10 matches, Germany was keen to deliver a statement four days before the side leaves for its tournament base in Moscow, especially after last Saturday’s lackluster 2-1 defeat to Austria. Women’s World Cup: Italy has qualified for the Women’s World Cup for the first time in two decades following a 3-0 win over Portugal.
Also Friday, Spain qualified for its second consecutive World Cup with a 2-0 win over Israel.
Tottenham signs Kane: England captain Harry Kane signed a six-year contract with Tottenham. British media reported Kane doubled his $133,700 weekly salary.
Kane has more than 20 goals in each of the past four EPL seasons, and delivered a career-best 30 goals in the 2017-18 campaign.
Kane, 24, will captain his country at the World Cup in Russia, with England’s opening game coming against Tunisia in Volgograd on June 18.
MLS: Jonathan Osorio had his first career multigoal game to help Toronto FC beat the host Philadelphia Union 2-0. Alex Bono had four saves in his second shutout of the season for defending MLS champion Toronto (4-7-2).