At fault on Sudan’s equaliser, Kalidou Koulibaly is in Rémy Ngono’s sights, with the pundit advising him to retire from international football. A remark that reopens the debate over his place in the Lions’ starting XI.
Senegal beat Sudan 4-1 on Thursday 12 November at the Stade Léopold Sédar Senghor and consolidated their place at the top of Group J. The win was not enough to silence the controversy. A starter after beginning the first two matchdays of qualifying on the bench, Kalidou Koulibaly, the Lions’ captain, appeared at fault on Sudan’s equaliser in the 45th minute: Mohamed Abuaagla, Sudan’s captain, got past him too easily before beating Yehvann Diouf, the goalkeeper, after Nicolas Jackson, the forward, had opened the scoring in the 31st, according to Senenews.
The 35-year-old centre-back’s performance was marked 4/10 in the match ratings. A misunderstanding with his goalkeeper was also noted, with Sadibou Sané, the defender, failing to close the gap in the middle, again according to Senenews. Enough to fuel the debate among the Lions over the captain’s place in the starting XI.
Rémy Ngono’s attack
It was the pundit Rémy Ngono, of Radio Foot Internationale, who started the controversy. He believes the goals Senegal have conceded in the last three or four matches stem from Koulibaly’s mistakes, judging him too slow, Senenews reports. He went on to advise him to retire from international football.
His remark, picked up by Afriquesports, was blunt: “You have a freight train behind you, moving at the speed of a tortoise. All the goals Senegal have conceded in the last three or four matches have come from Kalidou Koulibaly’s mistakes.” An opinion that is his alone.
Between Al-Hilal, Sedan and Bourges
Koulibaly currently plays for Al-Hilal, in Saudi Arabia, and heads the “reconstruction” project at CS Sedan Ardennes, according to L’Ardennais.
In the columns of L’Ardennais, he spoke about another fixture: the seventh round of the Coupe de France, where CS Sedan Ardennes face Bourges FC, of which Sadio Mané is the majority shareholder. The match is scheduled for Sunday 15 November at 14:00 at the Stade Louis-Dugauguez. “It’s certain that this match will have a special flavour for me, given that we’re going to face my brother Sadio’s team,” he had said.
He also spoke of an old friendship: “Sadio and I have known each other for a very long time, going back to our years at the Metz academy. Together, we wrote a page in the history of Senegalese football with two AFCON titles won.”