Soccer-Mane to miss Senegal matches against Ireland, England
FILE PHOTO: Soccer Football - Africa Cup of Nations - Round of 16 - Senegal v Ivory Coast - Charles Konan Banny Stadium, Yamoussoukro, Ivory Coast - January 29, 2024 Senegal's Sadio Mane scores a penalty during the shoot-out REUTERS/Siphiwe Sibeko/File Photo
(Reuters) -Sadio Mane will not play for Senegal in next month's internationals against Ireland and England after asking to be excused for the two friendly matches.
Mane is the only major absentee from a 26-man squad unveiled by coach Pape Thiaw on Tuesday.
"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.
Senegal take on Ireland in Dublin on June 6 and England in Nottingham on June 10.
Squad:
Goalkeepers: Mory Diaw (Rodez), Yevhann Diouf (Stade Reims), Edouard Mendy (Al Ahli)
Defenders: Abdou Diallo (Al Arabi), El Hadj Malick Diouf (Slavia Prague), Ismail Jakobs (Galatasaray), Kalidou Koulibaly (Al Hilal), Antoine Mendy (Nice), Moussa Niakhate (Olympique Lyonnais), Abdoulaye Seck (Maccabi Haifa)
Midfielders: Lamine Camara (Monaco), Mamadou Lamine Camara (Renaissance Berkane), Pathe Ciss (Rayo Vallecano), Habib Diarra (Racing Strasbourg), Krepin Diatta (Monaco), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton), Pape Gueye (Villarreal), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham Hotspur)
Forwards: Boulaye Dia (Lazio), Idrissa Gueye (Metz), Nicolas Jackson (Chelsea), Cherif Ndiaye (Red Star Belgrade), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton), Cheikh Sabaly (Metz), Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace), Abdallah Sima (Stade Brest).
(Writing by Mark Gleeson in Cape Town; Editing by Ed Osmond)
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