Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
SOSA MANE IS MISSING
Dutch star Ake claims Qatar will be poorer without Senegal hero
NATHAN AKE says Sadio Mane’s absence from the World Cup is a massive blow for the whole tournament.
The Dutch open their Group A campaign on Monday against Senegal, who ruled former Liverpool star Mane out of the tournament earlier this week.
The 30-year-old, who joined Bayern Munich in the summer, was forced to undergo surgery on a knee injury on Thursday.
And Manchester City defender Ake said the World
Cup will be poorer for his absence. “All the injuries are a negative for the World Cup,” said Ake.
“The World Cup is made for these kind of players. Everyone wants to see these kind of players in the tournament so it’s not a good thing.
“It’s never a nice thing to see when someone gets injured, and he will be a big miss for the tournament.
“But we will still go into the game against Senegal with the same mindset, even though he’s not there. We have to perform because it’s still going to be a tough match. They have a lot of well-known players and their strike force is very powerful.
“Obviously Mane isn’t going to be there, but still they have very good players. People see us as favourites to qualify from our group but it’s not going to be easy, especially as Senegal are our first game.
“After that game we can judge how we’re going, but that first game will be vital.”
Mane has been Senegal’s talisman for years. In February he scored the decisive penalty in a shoot-out with Egypt to seal the Africa Cup Of Nations. A month later he was again the shoot-out hero against the same opponents in a World Cup qualifier.
His injury KO means the famed Liverpool Fab Three of Mane, Mo Salah and Roberto Firmino will not have a representative in Qatar. Egypt failed to qualify and a rejuvenated Firmino was left out of the Brazil squad.
Senegal are 4-1 with bookies to finish top of the group (Holland are 4-9) and 8-11 to qualify. Ecuador and Qatar are also in the group.
Holland star Ake has paid tribute to Manchester City boss Pep Guardiola for making him a better player, admitting he had to overcome a tough first season with the Premier League champions. The Dutch star, who joined City from Bournemouth for £40million in the summer of 2020, said of Guardiola: “He’s been fantastic for me personally. “The first season was tough but in the second, and now the third, I feel I’ve developed.”