As Senegal prepare for the match which will make or break their World Cup qualification, star man Demba Ba has been dropped by coach Alain Giresse.
With the biggest game of Senegal’s 2014 FIFA World Cup qualifying campaign just around the corner, manager Alain Giresse has decided to drop Chelsea striker Demba Ba.
Demba Ba has four goals in 17 caps for Senegal, and is a superstar in his home nation, but Giresse rationalised the decision by stating that he is only choosing players who are “competitive and playing at their clubs”, quote BBC Sport.
Ba has been notoriously in and out of both the Chelsea team and personal form even since he joined the Blues from Newcastle United in January, for a fee of £7m.
It is a bold call by Giresse, as the Frenchman’s side must avoid defeat against Uganda in September in order to keep their World Cup hopes alive. Whilst Ba may be out form, he is of undeniable pedigree – fortunately Senegal have several quality strikers able to take his place, including Fenerbahce’s Moussa Sow and Hannover’s Mame Biram Diouf.
Senegal currently sit just one point ahead of Uganda in Group J, with nine points to their 8. As this is the final match of the second qualification stage, even a draw would see the side through.
The full 23-man squad is as follows:
Goalkeepers: Bouna Coundoul (Ethnikos), Cheikh N’diaye (Rennes), Issa N’diaye (Créteil)
Defenders: Lamine Gassama (Lorient), Issa Cissokho, Pape Mison Djilobodji (FC Nantes), Lamine Sane (Bordeaux), Cheikh Kouyate (Anderlecht), Kara Mbodj (Genk), Cheikh M’bengue (Toulouse) and Pape N’diaye Souare (Lille).
Midfielders: Mouhamed Diamé (West Ham), Idrissa Gana Guèye (Lille), Salif Sané (Hanover), Stéphane Badji (SK Bramm) and Alfred Ndiaye (Eskishirspor).
Forwards: Sadio Mane (Salzburg), Moussa Sow (Fenerbahce), Dame N’doye (Lokomotiv Moscow), Mame Birame Diouf (Hannover), Modou Sougou (Evian) and Ibrahima Balde (Kuban Krasnodar)
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