World Cup: Dutch defender Ake says Senegal not to be underestimated
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Netherlands' Nathan Ake is hoping he will start against Senegal on Monday as part of a back-three defence.
PHOTO: REUTERS
DOHA – The absence of Sadio Mane does not mean the Netherlands are going to underestimate African champions Senegal when the two sides clash in their World Cup Group A opener in Doha on Monday, Dutch defender Nathan Ake said on Friday.
Senegal’s attacking talisman was ruled out of the World Cup on Thursday after failing to recover from a knee injury he picked up while playing for his club Bayern Munich earlier in November.
But Ake said it will not diminish the threat they will face at the Al Thumama Stadium.
“It’s going to be very tough,” he told a news conference. “Senegal have good players and very strong strikers, even without Mane. Missing the World Cup due to an injury is very annoying, not only for him.
“Everyone wants to see the top players at work here. The fact that Mane is not here is therefore a loss for this World Cup.’‘
Netherlands captain and Liverpool defender Virgil van Dijk also had words of sympathy for his former teammate Mane, whom he calls a “world-class player”.
“I am very sorry that Sadio misses the match against us because this World Cup simply deserves the best players,” he said.
Mane, 30, scored the decisive penalty in a shoot-out as Senegal beat Egypt to win their first Africa Cup of Nations title in February. He did the same against the Egyptians a month later in their World Cup play-off. Mane also finished second in this year’s Ballon d’Or voting behind Frenchman Karim Benzema.
Former Senegal star El Hadji Diouf said the team had suffered a “big loss”.
“We’re going to miss Sadio because he’s a difference-maker,” said Diouf, a national team ambassador who was part of the Senegal side that reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 World Cup. “But don’t forget we’ve been very strong because we also have (Edouard) Mendy, (Kalidou) Koulibaly, a great team.
“This team is a family, don’t forget that. We’ve got to work without him – Senegal have to show the whole world what the African champions can do.”
Ake, meanwhile, has bedded down a place in the Dutch back four over the last few months.
“I hope I can play on Monday but we have many top defenders to pick from,” he said.
But with coach Louis van Gaal expected to play three centre-backs, the 27-year-old Manchester City player believed his chances of lining up against Senegal were good. REUTERS, AFP
