Senegal goalkeeper Édouard Mendy will miss the World Cup knockout round match against Belgium because of a knee injury, coach Pape Thiaw confirmed in Seattle.
Mendy, the 34-year-old Al-Ahli goalkeeper, was hurt during Senegal’s 3-2 loss to Norway in group play and will be unavailable for a second consecutive World Cup match. He returned to Saudi Arabia for further testing and was absent from training at Husky Soccer Stadium.
Thiaw said Mendy was expected back with the squad, though not in condition to play. “He’ll be with us tomorrow, of course, even if he won’t be fit to play,” Thiaw said in French. “We are happy to see him. We hope that he can be with us for the rest of the competition.”
Mendy has been a fixture for Senegal since his 2019 debut, making more than 50 appearances for the national team. He also started every Senegal match at the 2022 World Cup in Qatar.
Mory Diaw is the leading option in goal. The 33-year-old Le Havre goalkeeper replaced Mendy against Norway, then started against Iraq, making one save in Senegal’s 5-0 win to close group play.
“Mory had a great performance, he kept a clean sheet,” Thiaw said. “I think for the goalkeeper tomorrow, we hope that we’ll also come up with a clean sheet.”
Yehvann Diouf, a 26-year-old goalkeeper who plays for Nice, is also on Senegal’s roster and has two career caps.
Senegal reached the round of 32 as one of the eight best third-place teams after losses to France and Norway and the win over Iraq, finishing with three points and a plus-two goal differential. Belgium won Group G after draws with Egypt and Iran and a 5-1 victory over New Zealand.
The winner will remain in Seattle to face either the United States or Bosnia-Herzegovina on July 6.