Van Dyck: Mane's absence weakens the World Cup

 Virgil van Dyck, captain of the Netherlands national team, said that the absence of his former Senegalese Liverpool colleague, Sadio Mane, from the 2022 World Cup, which begins next Sunday in Qatar, will weaken the tournament, although his team will face a less powerful competitor in its opening match in Group A against Senegal on Monday. next.

The distinguished Senegal player, Mane, was excluded from the tournament on Thursday evening, after the team doctors reviewed the details of his knee injury, which he suffered while playing for Bayern Munich, the German champions, earlier this month.

Doctors concluded that recovery may take several months. Mane remained a colleague of Van Dyck in Liverpool until the end of last season, and it was expected that the two players would face each other on the field in Qatar next week during the match between their two countries at Al-Thumama Stadium.

Van Dijk told reporters, "I deeply regret Sadio's absence from the match against our national team, because this world championship simply deserves the participation of the best players, and Sadio is one of them."

He added, "Sadio is a world-class player, he is my close friend, and I will miss him. For me, Argentina, Brazil and France are the favorites to win the title." He continued: "Brazil is always present, the Argentine national team is strong and France has a great squad. We have a good group of players and our coach has a lot of experience, but above all we have team spirit."