Three days before Patrick Vieira’s first home match in charge of the Lions, Iliman Ndiaye (Manchester City) and Boulaye Dia (Stade Rennais) are among the five players rated « in form » in the Sport News Africa barometer. Nine Lions have already joined the Terrou-Bi hotel in Diamniadio.
Senegal are putting the finishing touches to their preparations before hosting Sudan on Thursday 12 November at 19:00 at the Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor in Dakar. For this first home match, the head coach can count on a core of players full of confidence, judging by the Sport News Africa barometer.
Iliman Ndiaye, Boulaye Dia, Lamine Camara and Ibrahim Mbaye are among the five internationals rated « in form » out of the 18 tracked by the outlet. Pape Matar Sarr and Moussa Niakhaté, for their part, are judged « stable ». A welcome dynamic before a double header that opens the 2027 AFCON qualifiers.
Dia rides his momentum
Boulaye Dia is enjoying a purple patch with Rennes. The forward scored in the Bretons’ 1-2 defeat to Lille, taking his tally to 5 goals in Ligue 1 this season, according to Camfoot and Ligue1.com. He is also among the five players rated « in form » in the Sport News Africa barometer.
Iliman Ndiaye, who plays for Manchester City, is also named on that list. The forward joined the Terrou-Bi hotel in Diamniadio on Monday, along with the other Lions expected at the base camp. Lamine Camara (Monaco) and Ibrahim Mbaye complete the Senegalese quartet in form according to the same barometer.
The Lions’ den fills up in Diamniadio
According to Wiwsport, nine Lions joined the base camp on Monday, among them Iliman Ndiaye, Nobel Mendy, Mory Diaw, Ibrahima Sy, Pape Demba Diop, Dion Lopy, Paul Mendy and Clayton Diandy.
The squad named by Vieira also produced one notable move with the return of Kalidou Koulibaly, the Al-Hilal centre-back, who was absent during the September matches. Sadio Mané, meanwhile, misses his second consecutive international window. « His wish was to stay close to his family, and I accepted that choice, » said Patrick Vieira, quoted by Footafrica.net. Idrissa Gana Gueye, 37, is also absent.
Target: AFCON 2027
After Sudan in Dakar, the Lions travel to Juba on 16 November for the return match. Both games are part of the 2027 AFCON qualifiers. The fixture will be a chance to gauge the form of a squad in which individuals such as Boulaye Dia and Iliman Ndiaye appear to be answering the call.
Pape Matar Sarr, of Juventus, is also among the call-ups and is rated « stable » by the Sport News Africa barometer.