Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly of Senegal against Qatar at the 2022 FIFA World Cup. (Photo by Dean Mouhtaropoulos/Getty Images)
Edouard Mendy made key saves to help Senegal beat hosts Qatar 3-1 in an important World Cup match. Captain Kalidou Koulibaly was a solid presence at the back for the AFCON winners (BBC).
Mendy came into this game under immense pressure after his mistakes against the Netherlands led to the Dutch scoring both goals against Senegal.
He was late to meet a Frenkie de Jong cross allowing Cody Gakpo to score the opener, while a save from Memphis Depay’s shot was weak and Davy Klaassen scored from the rebound that night.
Ahead of the game against Qatar, Senegal boss Aliou Cisse backed the 30-year-old and said he had ‘blind trust’ in his goalkeeper. It was a must-not lose game against the hosts after suffering that defeat against the European side.
Mendy repaid the faith shown in some style in this game. In the 67th minute, in an important phase of the match when Senegal was leading 2-0 but was on the back foot, an attempt from six yards out from Ismaeel Mohammad was headed in, but the keeper somehow clawed the ball away from the goal.
Five minutes before that, a low striker from Almoez Ali was sneaking inside the post, but Mendy stretched to tip the ball away.
The Chelsea stopper couldn’t have done much to stop the eventual goal though. Irrespective of that, it was a much-assured performance from the 30-year-old, whose form has not been great coming into the World Cup following stuttering displays for the Blues.
What this will do is help Mendy going forward. He is a top keeper who was excellent for Chelsea from September 2020 till the latter half of last season.
As of now, it looks like Graham Potter has Kepa Arrizabalaga as his first-choice keeper. Few good showings on the world stage would not harm Mendy’s chances to regain his place back between the sticks.
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