2022 FIFA World Cup – Player Profile: Sadio Mane, Senegal

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SuperSport viewers on DStv and will be counting down the days to the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar, with the tournament set to run from 21 November to 18 December and provide the most thrilling distillation of ‘The Beautiful Game’.

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One of the top African players appearing at the 2022 FIFA World Cup will undoubtedly be Senegalese forward Sadio Mane.

Fresh from firing Senegal to Africa Cup of Nations glory in Cameroon earlier this year – as well as a first back-to-back qualification for the World Cup finals – the 30-year-old will head to Qatar with a reputation as one of the hardest-working and most dangerous forwards in European football.

Mane was for Liverpool in a season where the English club set the highest of standards of competitiveness, earning high praise from manager Jurgen Klopp, before departing for Bayern Munich in the off-season.

“He is a machine. What he has done for this club and continues to do puts him in the bracket of ‘legend’. For Liverpool and Senegal he is playing to his highest level possible,” said the German tactician.

“What’s exciting is how he is getting better and stronger. When you see how he looks after himself and his commitment to his profession, turning 30 for him really is only a number,” Klopp added.

“His attitude and character are elite. We are so appreciative of him and I know for sure the levels he reaches at the moment are not the peak – there is, even more, to come from this very special player.”

Mane, a graduate of Senegal’s famed Generation Foot academy, started his senior career at Metz in France, before truly establishing himself with impressive spells at Red Bull Salzburg and Southampton. He then hit the ‘big time’ in 2016 when Klopp brought him to Liverpool, and the forward went on to make over 250 appearances and score over a century of goals for the Reds.

On the international front, he has been a part of the Teranga Lions’ set-up since 2012, representing the West African country at that year’s Olympics, five AFCONs and the 2018 World Cup in Russia, where he scored one goal in a 2-2 draw with Japan.

Full name: Sadio Mane

Born: 10 April 1992 in Sedhiou

Position: Forward

Senior club career: Metz (France, 2011-2012), Red Bull Salzburg (Austria, 2012-2014), Southampton (England, 2014-2016), Liverpool (England, 2016-2022), Bayern Munich (Germany, 2022-present)

Club career stats: 457 appearances, 194 goals

International debut: 25 May 2012, Morocco 0-1 Senegal, International Friendly

International stats: 91 caps, 33 goals

Senegal squads: 2012 Olympic Games; 2015 Africa Cup of Nations; 2017 Africa Cup of Nations; 2018 World Cup; 2019 Africa Cup of Nations; 2021 Africa Cup of Nations

*Stats correct as of 15 August 2022

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Open file link for DStv player profile of Sadio Mane:

https://wetransfer.com/downloads/46889b0cc5354c1afd9b005aaddbe2f820220816083641/ec0671236a700541d1fe7201bc1de1b520220816083656/44bd72