World Cup: Complicated facing England without Mane, Gueye and Kouyate - Senegal keeper Mendy

• Mane was ruled out before the World Cup
• Kouyate picked up an injury against Netherlands
• Gueye was suspended for England game

WHAT HAPPENED? The Lions of Teranga came up against the Three Lions in the Round of 16 fixture of the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar minus the three influential players.

Mane had already been ruled out of the global competition in the Gulf nation after picking an injury while playing for Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

Meanwhile, Kouyate started in their Group A opener against the Netherlands and suffered an injury while Gueye was suspended for accumulated yellow cards.

WHAT DID HE SAY?: "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 said as quoted by Fifa.com.

"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.

"But throughout the tournament and throughout the year, we have shown that Senegal is 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."

THE BIGGER PICTURE: Mendy had a tournament to forget as he failed to keep a clean sheet in all four matches Senegal played.

He conceded in the 2-0 defeat against Netherlands, 3-1 victory against hosts Qatar, the 2-1 victory against Ecuador and in the 3-0 defeat against England.

IN THREE PHOTOS:

Getty Images.

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WHAT NEXT FOR MENDY?: He will return to Chelsea who are preparing to face Aston Villa in a friendly at Al Nahyan Stadium on December 11. The Blues will resume Premier League action against Bournemouth at Stamford Bridge on December 27.