England are set to face Senegal for the first time ever after the two nations set up a round-of-16 clash at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
However, there will be no reunion with Liverpool legend Sadio Mane for Jordan Henderson and Trent Alexander-Arnold after the forward was forced to withdraw from the Senegal squad on the eve of the tournament with a leg injury.
The absence of the Bayern Munich forward is inevitably a huge miss for the Teranga Lions. The 30-year-old, who won every major honour during his six seasons at Anfield, is Senegal’s undisputed talisman and the player whose who fired them both to Africa Cup of Nations glory and World Cup qualification, getting the better of Mohamed Salah ’s Egypt on both occasions, earlier this year. Such efforts, along with his contributions as Jurgen Klopp ’s side fell just short of winning an unprecedented quadruple, saw him finish second in the Ballon d’Or behind Real Madrid’s Karim Benzema.
