Sadio Mane to miss Senegal's friendly against the Republic of Ireland
Mane is the only major absentee from a 26-man squad unveiled by coach Pape Thiaw on Tuesday for the clash with Heimir Hallgrímsson's side at the Aviva Stadium on Friday, 6 June and the English in Nottingham four days later.
"It's a personal decision that is his private business, and I respect that as a coach," Thiaw told a press conference.
The 33-year-old Mane, who has won 111 caps for the west Africa country, has been subjected to criticism for his last performances for Senegal in March, where they drew with Sudan but beat Togo in World Cup qualifiers.
Thiaw named one newcomer in midfielder Mamadou Lamine Camara, who won the African Confederation Cup on Sunday with his Moroccan club Renaissance Berkane.
There are returns to the squad after missing the March qualifiers for seven players, including Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson and Iliman Ndiaye from Everton.
Hashtags
Try Our AI Features
Explore what Daily8 AI can do for you:
Comments
No comments yet...
Related Articles
The Irish Sun
an hour ago
- The Irish Sun
Gabriel Martinelli is loved by Mikel Arteta but leaves Arsenal fans frustrated ahead of huge season for his future
Could Noni Madueke take his spot in the Gunners starting XI? TIME TO SHINE? Gabriel Martinelli is loved by Mikel Arteta but leaves Arsenal fans frustrated ahead of huge season for his future GABRIEL MARTINELLI remains one of Mikel Arteta's most trusted and relied-upon players. Since the Spaniard took over at Arsenal in December 2019, Martinelli has played 13,336 Prem minutes and started 152 games. Advertisement 3 Gabriel Martinelli is facing huge questions ahead of huge season for Arsenal Credit: Getty 3 Mikel Arteta now has the option of turning to Noni Madueke on the left wing Credit: Getty Play Dream Team now! Play The Sun Dream Team ahead of the 2025/26 season Free to play Over £100,000 in total prize money Play in Mini Leagues against your mates Submit a team for Gameweek 1 to enter £5,000 prize draw Play via Dream Team's app or website today! Only Bukayo Saka [18,917 minutes and 218 starts], Martin Odegaard [15,280 minutes and 172 starts] and Gabriel [18,036 minutes and 201 starts] have featured more. And during the past three seasons in which the Gunners have finished second, only Saka [205] has completed more Prem dribbles than Martinelli's 200, while the Brazilian has averaged 1.9 completed dribbles per 90 minutes, more than his English teammate [1.8]. The squad may be unrecognisable from the one Arteta inherited five-and-a-half years ago, but Martinelli has been a constant – keeping his place thanks to his immense work and commitment both in attack and defence, something that continues to tick Arteta's boxes. In October 2019, two months before Arteta took charge, following a 5-5 Carabao Cup thriller at Anfield, Jurgen Klopp labelled an 18-year-old Martinelli as a 'talent of the century'. Advertisement read more arsenal news CUP FOR IT Carabao Cup introduces new feature on 24 teams' shirts as Arsenal are trolled But nearly six years on, there are those who feel the 24-year-old is still yet to reach his potential, not kicking on in the way that many expected when he burst onto the scene following his £6m arrival from Brazilian outfit Ituano in July 2019. Many viewed his 2022/23 campaign – scoring 15 Prem goals and five assists in 36 games – as the start of something special, only for Martinelli's form to drop off with just 14 goals and eight assists in his last 68 league outings. It must be said that injuries hampered him last term, starting just 25 Prem games. Before their friendly against Newcastle in Singapore last month, Arteta said: 'We always want better and more from every single player but Gabi has performed very well and very consistently in the past three or four seasons.' Advertisement BEST FREE BETS AND BETTING SIGN UP OFFERS SunSport understands that, barring a mouth-watering offer from abroad, it is incredibly unlikely that Arteta will sign off on a Martinelli departure, as the winger is still viewed as a vital cog to his attack and a key figure in the dressing room. And in their Prem opener at Old Trafford against Manchester United on Sunday, it would be a massive shock NOT to see Martinelli starting out on the left wing. Arsenal make major change to Emirates stadium just days before new Premier League season But with the £42m summer arrival of versatile winger Noni Madueke, 23, from Chelsea, there is a feeling that this is a huge season for Martinelli. Advertisement The Brazilian will be desperate to return to the standards he has set in the past and prove his worth to hush the dissent from the stands and the shadow over his future. In last weekend's 3-0 pre-season victory over Athletic Bilbao, Martinelli produced an assist. But there remained groans and grumbles from Arsenal supporters demanding to see a more clinical edge to his game, a more polished performance from someone who is deemed to be an experienced first-team star, despite not yet turning 25. 3 Advertisement In contrast, Madueke's second-half cameo was promising – full of energy, creativity and unpredictability on the ball, producing an impressive cross from the left that should have been finished by another new-boy in Viktor Gyokeres. Should Madueke continue to shine, Martinelli could be in a position where he is fighting for his place, something he has not been used to in his Arsenal career, even with the arrival of Leandro Trossard – the 29-year-old also linked with a move away in this window. An incredible statistic emerged last season that is still ongoing: With 51 goals in 45 different matches in all competitions, when Martinelli has scored, Arsenal are yet to lose. But there are those that point to the fact that in big games against the best sides in the Prem, Martinelli does not always make an impact. Advertisement In six league games against Liverpool, he has four goals. But the majority of his strikes have come against bottom-half sides, with five against Crystal Palace, three against Leicester and Aston Villa and two against Southampton and Everton. And when it comes to average number of goals and assists per 90 minutes across his 208 games for Arsenal under Arteta, he has just 0.46. Compared with those who have played 25 or more games for the club under Arteta, that is less than Raheem Sterling [0.47], Reiss Nelson [0.56], Fabio Vieira [0.57] and Nicolas Pepe [0.65]. Advertisement There are perhaps extenuating circumstances. Saka has a galloping full-back, in Ben White, to create space for him, as well as Odegaard, who loves to link up down the right – a side that is the preferred route to attack. In contrast, with Myles Lewis-Skelly usually inverting, Martinelli has often been left to fend for himself, to create something out of nothing in congested areas of the pitch with little to no support. Regardless, Martinelli needs to rediscover that spark that saw him hailed as a generational talent as a teenager. Advertisement If not, there is competition that could threaten his Arsenal stay.
RTÉ News
2 hours ago
- RTÉ News
RTÉ Rugby podcast: Focus turns to Women's Rugby World Cup
The RTÉ Rugby panel of Hannah O'Connor and Jonny Holland look ahead to the Women's Rugby World Cup 2025, which starts on Friday week. The panel discuss Ireland's warm-up defeat to Canada and assess where the team are ahead of their opening Pool C game against Japan on 24 August. We ask who was unlucky to miss out on squad selection and would some late additions disrupt harmony in the panel. The analysts give their prediction on how Ireland will get on at the World Cup.
RTÉ News
3 hours ago
- RTÉ News
Profits at Johnny Sexton management firm surge by €425,952 to €2.67m
The management company owned by former Ireland rugby captain Johnny Sexton recorded post tax profits of €425,952 last year. Sexton retired from playing during the year under review in October 2023 following the Rugby World Cup and new accounts filed by Sexton's JAS Management & Promotions Ltd show that it recorded bumper profits for the 12 months to the end of September last. The €425,952 post tax profit followed a post tax loss of €83,240 in the prior year - a positive swing of €509,192. The profit for last year resulted in the firm sitting on accumulated profits of €2.67m at the end of September last. Cash funds at the company last year more than halved from €1.3m to €554,744 while during the same period, the value of the company's financial assets increased by €1.22m from €881,826 to €2.11m. The accounts - signed off by directors, Johnny Sexton and wife Laura Sexton on August 6 - show that aggregate pay to directors last year decreased sharply from €322,334 to €238,606 made up of emoluments of €63,759 and pension contributions of €174,856. Sexton added to his company's coffers in the current financial year with sales from his "Obsessed: The Autobiography" by Johnny Sexton which was the biggest selling non-fiction book of 2024 in Ireland. The paperback release of the book - which won Eason Sports Book of the Year at An Post's 2024 Irish Book Awards - in May of this year resulted in a fresh surge in sales. Sexton also benefited from the Government's innovative tax relief programme - introduced in 2002 - for professional sportspeople which allows them to receive a generous tax refund in the year they retire permanently from their sport. After retiring from the game in October 2023 following Ireland's World Cup loss to New Zealand, Sexton took up a senior role with glass bottle and tin-can maker Ardagh. However earlier this year, Sexton was added to the British and Irish Lions coaching ticket ahead of taking up a full time coaching role with Ireland rugby team this month as well as working with men's and women's senior and age-grade teams. The former Leinster out-half had been working with the Ireland men's squad in a part-time coaching capacity since the 2024 Autumn Nations Series. Sexton, a former World Rugby Player of the Year, was appointed Ireland captain by Andy Farrell in January 2020. Sexton is one of Irish Rugby's most decorated players and led Ireland to a Grand Slam in 2023 and won four European Rugby Champions Cups with Leinster.
