When your starting goalkeeper goes down before a must-watch World Cup fixture, you find out quickly what your squad depth looks like. For Senegal, the answer is Mory Diaw, the 33-year-old Le Havre AC shot-stopper who has stepped into the starting role after Édouard Mendy was ruled out of training ahead of the team’s match against Norway.
Mendy, who currently plays his club football for Al Ahli, had already been named in Senegal’s 28-man World Cup squad. His absence from training sessions ahead of the Norway fixture was enough for coach Pape Thiaw to turn to Diaw as the primary option between the posts.
How Senegal got here
Senegal entered the Norway match on the back of a 3-1 defeat to France. Mendy missed training after a rest day that followed that loss, and concerns about his fitness quickly escalated from a minor footnote into a starting-lineup decision.
Coach Pape Thiaw has been clear that Diaw is ready, pointing to his preparations in the lead-up to the Norway game as evidence the transition has been smooth.
