Chelsea goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has come out to highlight how the absences of some important players cost them the game against the Three Lions.
The Senegalese international feels the absences of Sadio Mane, Idrissa Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyate played a massive role in their defeat against England.
After bowing out of the tournament to England on Sunday, the shot-stopper, who was seen frustrated a lot during the game, couldn’t keep back his emotions as he opened up on what he believes could have happened if some calibers of players had been present.
Bayern Munich star Sadio Mane missed the tournament due to an injury, while experienced midfielders Gueye and Kouyate couldn’t feature against England due to suspension and injury respectively.
“Dealing with defeat is not difficult. We came up against a better team than us, we have to accept that, England played at their best,” Mendy told FIFA Plus.
“They also had all their players at their disposal while we were missing some key players. We had to play without Sadio.”
“We also had Idrissa [Gueye] and Cheikhou [Kouyate] missing. So, when you play against a team like that with key players missing, it is complicated,” the towering goalkeeper continued.”
“But throughout the tournament and throughout the year, we have shown that Senegal has more than 11 players, it is a group.”
“We will continue to move forward, to progress and we will come back stronger in the 2026 World Cup, God willing.”
Mendy endured a disappointing tournament after failing to keep a clean sheet in all four matches Senegal played in Qatar. The 30-year-old will be hoping to regain his good form when club football resumes in England later this month.
