adminThe clash between Van Dijk and Mane had been seen as one of the most eagerly anticipated of the group stages of the Qatar World Cup, only for Mane to suffer an injury while playing for Bayern Munich.
Virgil van Dijk reached out to Sadio Mane after the Dutchman’s former Liverpool teammate saw his World Cup dream cruelly ended.
The clash between Van Dijk and Mane had been seen as one of the most eagerly anticipated of the group stages of the Qatar World Cup, only for Mane – who played with Van Dijk for four-and-a-half years at Liverpool, winning the Premier League and the Champions League in that time – to suffer an injury while playing for Bayern Munich.
Van Dijk admits Mane’s absence will make it easier for the Dutch to beat Senegal, but he’s still sad to see him missing.
“Yes I called him (immediately after the injury),” said the Dutch captain, “I wanted to know how he was because there was so many rumours.
“Unfortunately at the time it was not the best news. I feel sad for him, I know how hard he works for this, and he h”He’s obviously a big miss for them, but hopefully we can benefit from that a little.”
Senegal boss Aliou Cisse didn’t hide from the fact that it will be difficult task for his side against the Dutch in the absence of Mane.
“Obviously it is a great shame for Sadio Mane, and a shame for the national team, but we need to think about the health and safety of the player,” he said.
“Obviously it is a great challenge for us. All coaches build their team around their best player.
“We have a strong team of young players who are ready to rise to the challenge.
“It is never easy to play without Sadio, but I think all our players are ready to rise to the challenge.”
On the impact of Mane’s injury on the tournament, he added: “Of course we’re not just talking about the Senegalese people, people all over the world, the whole football family is saddened by what happened to Sadio.
“He is the second best player in the world.
“In the last few weeks I’ve received many calls from people who are sad about what happened to Sadio.”
Senegal winger Krepin Diatta reiterated how tough it will be for his side without their talisman.
“As we all know Sadio is an extremely important for our team. We are determined to do what we can for him,” said the Monaco winger.”– DailyMirror.
Mathew Masinge
Online Reporter