World Cup poorer without Mane, says former Liverpool teammate Van Dijk
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’s talisman Mane was ruled out of the tournament in Qatar late on Thursday after his team’s 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.
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.
“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,” said Van Dijk. “Sadio is world class, he is my friend and I will miss him.”
Van Dijk also echoed coach Louis van Gaal’s sentiment from earlier in the week that the Dutch could be strong competitors at the tournament. “For me, Argentina, Brazil and France are the favourite countries,” he told reporters.
“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.”
SENEGAL NOT TO BE UNDERESTIMATED: AKE
The absence of Sadio Mane does not mean the Netherlands are going to underestimate African champions Senegal when the two sides clash in their World Cup Group A opener in Doha, Dutch defender Nathan Ake said. But Ake said it will not diminish the threat they will face at the Al Thumama Stadium on Monday.
“It’s going to be very tough,” he told a news conference. “Senegal has good players and very strong strikers, even without Mane. Missing the World Cup due to an injury is very annoying, not only for him.”