World Soccer - UK (2022-01)

Binationaux

Moribatowatch theirWorldCup

qualifierinNovemberinthehopehe

mightbepersuadedtoplaythismonth.

The 18 -year-old wasbornin Conakry

butraisedinSpainandplayedforthe

Spanishjuniornationalteamswhile

atBarcelona’sLaMasiaacademy.He

moved to theBundesligafora hefty

€ 16 millionfee amidreportedinterest

fromthelikesofManchesterCityand

TottenhamHotspur.

MohamedBayoandSaidouSow are

twoLigue1 regularswhohavealready

madea recentdecisiontoplayfor

Guinea,whileMaliarereportedlyseeking

a realcoupintryingtolureLyonstriker

MoussaDembeletorepresentthem.

The 25 -year-oldplayedforFranceat

every agegrouplevel from Under- 16

toUnder- 2 1 andwaspreviouslyat

Fulham,CelticandAtleticoMadrid.

Foralloftheirdominanceinthe

qualifiersfor both theCupof Nations

finalsandtherecentWorldCup

scrimmage,Senegal areamong

theleadingswainsfor addedtalent.

HeadcoachAliouCisse,himself

aBinationauxwhogrewupinthe

suburbsofParisnotfar from thehome

ofAlgeriacoachDjamelBelmadi,has

beenefficientlyfixingthedeficiencies

inhisside’sline-up.

BounaSarrofBayernMunichmade

nosecretofthefacthewasholdingout

fora call-upfromtheFrench national

teambuteventuallydecidedhischances

wereslimandagreedtoCisse’sovertures.

IthelpedthatSarr’sfatherMamadouhad

played fortheLionsofTeranga,andthat

Senegalhavebeenlookingfor a right-

backfor some timewhileregularchoice

YoussoufSabalystruggled with injury.

Onthe left sideofdefence, Milan’s

FodeBallo-Toureis also new, having

switchedallegianceinMarch,andtaken

theplaceof MoussaWague.Abdou

DialloofParisSaint-Germaincanalso

playin thatpositionbutSenegalused

himasa centre-backinthe recent

WorldCupqualifiers. He is also a recent

convert from theFranceUnder-2 1 side

andanotherconsiderablecatch.

ButCissehasnotstoppedthere.

Marseille’shighly-talenteddefensive

midfielderPapeGueyeswitchedfrom

FrancetoSenegal

andmade

hisdebutin

November.

“Ihavegone

toSenegalmany

times,myfather

travelsthereoften.

Hetalkstomea lotaboutthecountry

andI havepridenow to be ableto

defendhiscolours,” Gueyesaid

after hisfirst cap.

CisseisnowcourtingGueye’s

club-mate BoubacarKamara,who

theSenegalcoachfeelswillfurther

shoreup themiddle.

Itcan be somethingofa gamble

todisruptanefficientline-upwiththat

manynewadditions,butthe added

qualitycouldbetherecipeSenegal

seekastheygoinsearchoftheir

first continentaltitle.

Theseare allplayerswhomightwell

havegoneontoplayforFrance,and

thetensioncontinuestoriseover the

numberofBinationauxwhocome

throughthe Frenchsystem butend

upplayingfor othercountries.

ButforaslongasLesBleusare

winningmajortitles,itisanissue

onthe backburner.

willbe European-born.

Hosts Cameroonmanagedto

persuademidfielderJamesLea Silikito

playaftermanyyearsofpersuasion.He

isa formerFrenchjuniorinternational

andhasquicklybecomea valued

squadmember, if notyetastarter.

Galatasarayright-backSachaBoey,

recentlyinjured,andAngersleft-back

EnzoEbosseare being earmarkedfora

switchofnationalityand,once approved

byFIFA,couldbeincludedinthesquad

forthetournament.

Allplayerswho have played

representative football foronecountry

mustseeka formalswitchfromworld

football’sgoverning

body, althoughare

onlydisqualified

fromchangingif

theyhavewon

seniorcapsat

competitivelevel.

Eventhenifthey

haveplayednomorethanthreesenior

gamesbefore theageof 21,theycan

switchafter a three-yearwaitperiod.

ThisishowformerSpaininternational

MunirElHaddadiwill be liningup for

MoroccoattheCupofNationsfinals.

Guinea’sfederationinvitedRB

Leipzig’s teenagemidfielderIlaix

Binationaux...Senegal

midfielderPapeGueye

Senegalmanager...
AliouCisse

There will be 6 72 playersregisteredtocompete

atAFCON 202 1.Itwouldbeaccurate to suggest

that,oncethesquadsarefinalised, several

hundred will be European-born

French born...

Algeriastriker

AndyDelort

Indemand...

Lyonstriker

Moussa

Dembele