After 20 years, Senegalese football has ushered in a new "golden generation". Although there were famous coachEschu and Xinke African footballer Diouf in that year, most of the players played in the worst ligue 1 of the five major leagues. Diouf also joined Liverpool after the World Cup, with Fadiga, Faye and H. Kamala subsequently landing in Serie A and the Premier League. What awaits Senegal, however, is a 17-year trough.
This "Generation 22" Senegalese champion team, represented by the number one star Mane, can be called a comprehensive surpasser of the "Generation 02". As many as 19 players of 27 players play for the five major leagues, including Liverpool, Chelsea, Bayern, Paris Saint-Germain, AC Milan, Napoli, Marseille and other giants, as well as top players such as Mane, Mendy, Koulibaly, Guye, B. Sal and Diallo. Mane and Mendy both have Champions League trophies, and Mane, who is worth 80 million euros, is the second Senegalese African footballer of the year, like Diouf. Koulibaly is also the best defender in the Champions League, and the other three play for Paris Saint-Germain and Bayern respectively, and also have league titles and Champions League final resumes, which is a height that the "generation 02" simply cannot reach.
For the "Generation 22" led by Mane, the African Cup of Nations championship is just the beginning, and their next goal is to become the first African team to reach the top four of the World Cup.
Mane's success or failure is a penalty
Mane, the former African footballer of the year, who is worth 80 million euros, holds the Champions League, Premier League titles and Premier League Golden Boot titles, and is undoubtedly the superstar who can compete with Salah in this cup. Both did, with their individual ability, to bring their respective teams to the final.
Mane performed well enough this time, with 3 goals and 2 assists in the first 6 games of the final, including 2 goals and 2 assists in 3 games against Cape Verde, Guinea-Bissau and Burkina Faso in the knockout rounds, including half of Senegal's goals, the first two games for the team to open the record, and the semi-final staged a pass to lock in the victory, which was the number one contributor to the team's progress to the final. However, in the final, Mane faced the test of life and death on penalties. In the opening seven minutes, his penalty was saved by the Egyptian goalkeeper, leaving Senegal with a valuable lead – it was his mistake five years ago that cost Senegal the title.
At the Africa Cup, penalties have been Mane's nightmare. Since 2017, he has hit just three of his seven free throws in three African Cups. In this cup, the first game was against Zimbabwe, and he withstood the pressure in the 7th minute of stoppage time and scored a key 3 points for the team with a penalty. But he missed a penalty in the 7th minute of the final, allowing Senegal to miss the golden start. Fortunately, in the final penalty shootout, Egypt's Abdemone shot deflected, Rasheen's penalty was saved by Mendy, Senegal's last appearance Mane did not live up to the expectations of fans across the country, the penalty was decisively hit, and finally won senegal's first major trophy.
In this cup, Mane played 3 tactical positions in 7 games, and finally fixed on the left winger to play a performance that matched the value. Mane has scored 29 goals for Senegal, equalling the all-time record of "Generation 02" center H. Camara and making 87 appearances at the same time, just 12 games away from the latter, who also holds the team's record. Not surprisingly, Mane will break two team records held by Kamala in recent years and become the true king of Senegal's team history. It is worth mentioning that the World Cup qualifiers in The African Zone in March are again the narrow encounter between Senegal and Egypt, and only one of the two Liverpool teammates can get the World Cup ticket, which is no less cruel than the African Cup final.
In addition, with the stable performance of Mane and his Senegalese team in the African Cup of Nations, the 2019 African Footballer of the Year, with this victory and the best player of this African Cup of Nations, is very likely to win the title of African Footballer of the Year again, thus keeping pace with the predecessor of the "02 generation", Diouf.
Steel defenses amaze the world
After the African Cup of Nations, the whole of Europe was looking after the Senegalese defense led by Koulibaly, as well as the midfield barrier formed by Crystal Palace veteran Cuiat, Paris Saint-Germain's Guye and Leicester City's N. Mendy.
Manager Aliu Cisse knows how important defence is to African teams, especially Senegal. At the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal conceded only 2 goals in 7 matches, but was killed by Algeria in the group stage and final, losing the championship bitterly. The knockout round was a good luck, all the opponents were inexperienced dark horses in the big game, the team also conceded only 2 goals in 7 games, and did not concede a goal in the opening 417 minutes, and the toughness of the defense was staggering.
It is worth mentioning that there are many naturalized players in the "22nd generation" Senegalese team. Paris Saint-Germain centre-back Diallo, who came from Monaco's academy, previously played for France's youth national team of all ages, only completing naturalization last March. Centre-back Koulibaly, Milan left-back F. Toure, defender N. Mendy and P. Guye also played for the French youth team, and the last three also completed their naturalization last year. The main goalkeeper Mendy, the substitute goalkeeper Dion, the right-back B. Sal and the striker Dia were all born in France, as well as players from Switzerland and Spain. Naturalized players make up almost the entire team's defense line and are the guarantee of the team's undefeated base.
Mendy sits in the dragon gate, Koulibaly and Diallo form a double center-back, plus the main right-back B. Sal, the back N. Mendy, the substitute back P. Guye, Senegal's naturalized defense line makes the whole of Europe envious. Having played seven games in two consecutive Africa Cups and conceded only two goals, coach Aliu Cisse's ability to adjust defense can be seen. Right winger I Sal and centre-forward Diediu, who echoed Sane on the offensive end, are a rare homegrown main force at left-back Sith and are now playing in Europe.
The only thing that may worry Senegalese fans is that the average age of the "22nd generation" defensive end is older, and by June this year, only Diallo will be under 30 years old in the eight main players in the midfield. At that time, the main player in the frontcourt Mane will also be 30 years old, but the team also has Diallo, Balde, P. Guye, Dia, as well as the defender Sabari who was not selected this time, Lyon midfielder P. Diop, Leicester City midfielder Sumare, Monaco goalscorer Diata and other rookies, enough to support the team's metabolism.
Of course, for the 30-year-old "Generation 22" led by Mane, the World Cup at the end of the year will be their last chance to prove themselves to the world. But before that, they still need to undergo another life-and-death test from Egypt in March.