Latest news with #EdouardMendy
Saudi Gazette
3 days ago
- Sport
- Saudi Gazette
Jaissle eyes Super Cup title as Ahli embrace late invitation
Saudi Gazette report HONG KONG — Al Ahli manager Matthias Jaissle struck a confident tone ahead of his team's Saudi Super Cup semi-final clash against Al Qadsiah, saying his side is fully focused on lifting the trophy even though their participation came via a last-minute invitation. Speaking at a press conference in Hong Kong, Jaissle said: 'This match wasn't originally on our calendar, but once the invitation came, we embraced it. We aim to be true ambassadors of the nation and that means playing to win.' Jaissle, who is coaching in Hong Kong for the first time, played down concerns about the unfamiliar conditions: 'No reason to worry about the weather. The team is well prepared, and I'm optimistic heading into the season.' He also addressed recent speculation over team leadership after goalkeeper Edouard Mendy wore the captain's armband in a friendly against Al Riyadh, despite Franck Kessié being on the pitch. 'There's no issue at all,' he said. 'After Firmino's departure, we let the players vote on who should captain the team. The options were Mendy, Kessié, Majrashi, and Ibañez, the squad chose Mendy.' Asked about Al Qadsiah coach Michel González's comment that his side deserves to be in the final, Jaissle replied diplomatically: 'I can't comment on what my colleague said. We're focused and prepared.' With several high-profile exits this summer — including Allan Saint-Maximin, Roberto Firmino, and Gabri Viega — Jaissle declined to be drawn into the reasons. 'I've said before I won't speak about the transfer market. The window is still open, but right now, all focus is on Qadsiah and the Super Cup.' Jaissle also expressed his gratitude for working in Saudi Arabia, highlighting the rapid progress of domestic football. 'Everyone here is working tirelessly to improve the league. I hope to still be here in 2034 to witness the World Cup in Saudi Arabia.' For his part, goalkeeper Edouard Mendy said the squad is eager to make the most of the opportunity: 'We began preparing for the new season before we even knew we'd be playing in this competition. Now we want to win.' He added: 'We took the chance to win the AFC Elite Championship, and now we aim for a new trophy. We know Qadsiah well it will be a great game.'
RTHK
3 days ago
- Sport
- RTHK
'Football cup strengthens ties between SAR and Saudi'
'Football cup strengthens ties between SAR and Saudi' A fan asks Al-Ahli goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to autograph a football jersey. Photo: RTHK Hosting the Saudi Super Cup in Hong Kong will strengthen football ties between the SAR and Saudi Arabia and hopefully promote the sport in the city by giving fans a taste of 'international standard' games, local football officials said. The city is hosting the annual football tournament this week, featuring four top clubs from the Saudi Pro League, for the first time. Event organisers, alongside the Football Association of Hong Kong, China (HKFA), the Saudi Arabian Football Federation (SAFF) and participating clubs, held a pre-tournament press conference at a hotel in Admiralty on Monday. HKFA general secretary Charles Cheung expressed gratitude to SAFF for bringing the tournament to the SAR. 'This is a very formal competition," he said. "We hope that this can give Hong Kong football some inspiration about what international standards are,' he said. 'We hope this tournament will help maintain a long-term relationship between the HKFA and the SAFF... We have four great teams from Saudi Arabia, and we would also like to bring some beautiful games to Hong Kong.' SAFF deputy secretary general Ibrahim Alkabbaa said they have worked tirelessly to bring the tournament to Hong Kong and are excited to see it finally happening. The tournament will kick off with Al-Nassr facing Al-Ittihad in the first semi-final on Tuesday, while Al-Qadsiah will take on Al-Ahli the following day to decide the other final spot at the Hong Kong Hong Kong Stadium. The two semi-final winners will then clash in Saturday's final at the same venue. Al-Ahli's goalkeeper Edouard Mendy said the team is happy to have the chance to play in front of SAR fans and that he's not too worried about the city's unpredictable weather. 'It's first time for a lot of us," Mendy said. "But we are quite happy with the welcome we received. As I said, we're going to do everything to be ready in two days. 'Obviously, the weather is not great, but we can deal with that.' Al-Ittihad captain Karim Benzema said he doesn't feel under pressure in facing off against former Real Madrid teammate Cristiano Ronaldo, who's now with Al-Nassr. 'I don't know if it's a challenge – I'm not playing against him. It's not a Karim versus Cristiano match. It's more like Al-Nassr versus Al-Ittihad. We'll see what happens on the pitch,' said the 2022 Ballon d'Or winner. About 30 fans waited outside the hotel in the hope of meeting their football idols. One of them, Owen Yiu, who brought jerseys and photos of Benzema, said he has been a supporter of the French forward for more than a decade. 'I'm a Real Madrid fan. I'm a die-hard fan of him, so I hope I can see him here," he said. "He contributes a lot to the club, and the most impressive thing for me is his passion in the games. "We've won many Champions League titles under his leadership. He's forever my idol.' Ten-year-old Hayley carried a Cristiano Ronaldo jersey and said she would watch his match on TV. 'Ronaldo's gonna score a hat-trick, and I hope they win. Ronaldo's the [greatest of all time],' she said.
BBC News
25-06-2025
- Sport
- BBC News
I went to Saudi for trophies, not money
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy says criticism that he and other footballers chased money by moving to Saudi Arabia is wide of the mark. The 33-year-old left Chelsea for Al-Ahli in a £16million ($21.4m) deal in 2023, and in May the Afcon-winner helped his Saudi club win the Asian Champions League, making him among the first players to win both that competition and its European like many others, Mendy has been criticised for playing for money rather than prestige in the newly-rich Saudi Pro asked about such comments, Mendy told a joint-BBC Sport and BBC Africa interview: "Al-Ahli's project came along and they made me feel I had a big role to play. "Two years later, we won the Champions League for the first time in the club's history. So yes, that validates my choice. And I hope the coming years will validate it even more."He added: "Some people will quickly jump to conclusions and say the only reason is money. From the start, I always said that when I left Chelsea, I knew I was joining another team where I could win everything - which was no longer the case at Chelsea."The Blues have since won the Uefa Conference League, Europe's third-tier club competition, under the ownership of Todd Boehly and Clearlake Capital. But it comes after the regime's trophyless first two years, a period which has frustrated some supporters after the success enjoyed under Roman Abramovich's stewardship in the previous 19 years. Mendy has also been celebrating what he describes as a "historical win" with Senegal against England at Nottingham Forest's City Ground - but days earlier he had been in Dakar delivering a different kind of win. He is the sponsor of Yakaar, a school in Keur Massar, which seeks to improve funding and access to digital learning tools for local children from underprivileged backgrounds. Famously, as Mendy grew up in France, he was unemployed, aged 22, while struggling to find a club, with members of his family still living on the outskirts of why Yakaar, a word meaning "hope", was chosen - a word Mendy has carried with him in his career."Hope is what kept me going. When I was without a club, it was the hope of getting that first professional contract. "Then the hope of playing for the national team. The hope of making my family proud by doing the job I had always dreamed of."Indeed, hope is the best word to describe my career."Mendy was also asked whether the responsibility of being an African goalkeeper had weighed heavily on him."Of course. When I was in England, there weren't many African goalkeepers in top clubs," he admitted."Whether nationally or internationally, I had that responsibility. It's the same for other African goalkeepers like Andre Onana (at Manchester United) or Yassine Bounou (Al-Hilal)."
News.com.au
11-06-2025
- Sport
- News.com.au
England stunned by Senegal to put Tuchel under immediate pressure
England slumped to a 3-1 home friendly defeat by Senegal on Tuesday to ramp up the scrutiny on boss Thomas Tuchel one year out from the World Cup. Goals from Ismaila Sarr, Habib Diarra and Cheikh Sabaly inflicted England's first ever defeat against African opposition at Nottingham Forest's City Ground after Harry Kane had given the hosts an early lead. Tuchel was scathing in his criticism of his side's dreary display in beating minnows Andorra just 1-0 in World Cup qualifying on Saturday. The German, who was appointed with the task of ending England's wait since 1966 for a major tournament win, suffered his first defeat in four games in charge. "We need to see the players under these kinds of conditions against one of the top 20 teams in the world to be smarter," said Tuchel. "We don't go next week to the World Cup. We go in one year." Tuchel responded by making 10 changes, with Kane the only player to retain his place. It took just seven minutes for the Bayern Munich striker to maintain his record of scoring in every game since Tuchel took charge. Former Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy should have done better when he could only parry Anthony Gordon's shot into the path of Kane, who tapped in his 73rd international goal. Dean Henderson was given a rare chance to impress in the England goal as Jordan Pickford was relegated to the bench. The Crystal Palace stopper made impressive saves from his club team-mate Sarr and Idrissa Gana Gueye. But he was helpless when Sarr made the most of a lack of concentration from Kyle Walker to meet Nicolas Jackson's cross and fire into the bottom corner. England had never lost to African opposition in 21 previous matches but Senegal had been beaten just once from open play since losing to the Three Lions at the 2022 World Cup. "Not good enough. We had moments, but with and without the ball things aren't clicking, we're not finding the right tempo," said Kane. "We've lost that aggressive nature that we had." Diarra was afforded acres of room to run in behind the England defence and slot between the legs of Henderson to put the visitors in front just after the hour mark. Mendy made amends for his role in the opening goal with fine saves to deny Bukayo Saka and Morgan Gibbs-White a swift equaliser. England thought they had levelled late on when Jude Bellingham smashed home from a corner. But the goal was ruled out for a handball by Levi Colwill before the ball broke to the Real Madrid midfielder. Senegal made the most of that reprieve to seal a famous win in stoppage time when Sabaly rounded off a slick counter-attack. Boos rained down from the disgruntled home support to leave Tuchel with plenty to ponder before England are next in action in September.
Telegraph
10-06-2025
- Sport
- Telegraph
England vs Senegal predictions: International friendly tips and odds
Our expert has three tips for Tuesday's international friendly between England and Senegal at the City Ground, Nottingham (kick-off, 7.45pm). We think this could be another low-scoring battle. England vs Senegal tips Under 2.5 goals @ 11/10 with Sky Bet Edouard Mendy to make 5+ saves @ 5/4 with Sky Bet BuildABet – Senegal +2 goals on handicap, Bukayo Saka to score or assist and England to have 5+ corners @ 9/2 with Sky Bet Odds courtesy of Sky Bet Correct at the time of publication and subject to change. Already a Sky Bet member? Check out more free bets from the best betting sites, reviewed by our experts. Attritional contest on the cards Thomas Tuchel became the first England manager to win his first three matches in charge without conceding on Saturday but there was hardly cause for celebration as England scraped past Andorra, who are ranked 173rd in the world, winning 1-0 in Catalonia despite racking up 20 shots. It was a pretty stodgy performance and under 2.5 goals appeals at 11/10 when England take on Senegal in a friendly on Tuesday. Senegal drew 1-1 with Ireland on Friday, extending their unbeaten run in all competitions to 23 matches, while they have now gone 25 matches without conceding more than once in a game. With imposing defender Kalidou Koulibaly likely to return to the team at the City Ground, they can keep the score down against their misfiring hosts. Mendy in for a busy night Goals might be at a premium in this game but that does not mean England will not generate chances and Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy to make 5+ saves looks like another decent pick at 5/4. Yehvann Diouf started in goal against Ireland but Mendy is expected to play at the City Ground and he could be busy with Tuchel insisting his players will have more 'attacking freedom' on Tuesday. In their three games under Tuchel, England have managed 10 shots on target against Andorra, eight against Latvia and six against Albania. Mendy made six saves in his last international appearance in a 2-0 win over Togo in March. Saka can impress under Tuchel Start this 9/2 BuildABet selection with Senegal +2 goals on the handicap, which means they must win, draw or lose by no more than two goals to win the bet. Some experimentation is expected from England and it is hard to see them outclassing the Lions of Teranga, who are ranked 19th in the world, after Saturday's display against Andorra. Tuchel has confirmed Bukayo Saka will start on Tuesday and the Arsenal man is worth backing to score or assist as he looks to impress the England boss. He recorded 16 goal contributions in this season's Premier League. Complete the BuildABet with England to have 5+ corners. They have been frequent crossers of the ball under Tuchel, racking up 26 corners in the last three games, while they averaged 6.83 per match in the Nations League. England vs Senegal odds All odds courtesy of Sky Bet. Correct at the time of publication and subject to change. If you'd like to find more odds and offers, take a look at our list of the best betting sites and latest free bets
