Schlass! And the list is cut down to 23…

Hello, I’m Massaër from the Marseille offside and I’ll be taking over the Senegal World Cup Blog til the next World Cup.
So Henry Kasperczack went at first with the new trend of taking half the country for the ACN. He took 38 players and only three of those knew they were not going to Ghana (Pape Malickou Diakhaté of Dynamo Kiyv being the most important of them, the new boss of the defense being injured. PMD will be sorely missed). Kasperczack stirred up a lot of controversy with that list since a lot of players in the 38 have never worn the national uniform and only expressed their interest recently when the other national teams they were eyeing seemed to be further and further away. Rumor was at some point that the 39th and 40th spot were reserved for Bordeaux’s David Bellion (who seems to be lobbying hard to get back in the good graces of the national opinion after having refused the NT twice when he was playing for Manchester) and Saint-Etienne’s Bafétimbi Gomis (who also came to his senses when he caught a glimpse of that kid playing 60 kms from where he plays and whose name rhymes with Kenzema). Kasperczack picked these players at first:

1 - Tony Mario Sylva (Lille LOSC, France)
2 - Omar Daf (FC Sochaux, France)
3 - Kalilou Cissokho (Football Club de Baki, Azerbaïdjan)
4 - Habib Bèye (Newcastle, England)
5 - Pascal Mendy (Club F. de Kaunas, Lithuania)
6 - Ibrahima Khouma Guèye (Red Star Belgrade, Serbia)
7 - Demba Bâ (Hoffenheim, Germany)
8 - Cheikh Guèye (FC Metz, France)
9 - Ibrahima Faye (FC Troyes, France)
10 - Guirane Ndaw (FC Sochaux, France)
11 - Pape Bouba Diop (Portsmouth, England)
12 - Ousmane Ndoye (Academia Coimbra, Portugal)
13 - Badara Sène (FC Sochaux, France)
14 - Malick Bâ (FC Bâle, Switzerland)
15 - Pape Waïgo Ndiaye (Genoa, Italia)
16 - Babacar Guèye (FC Metz, France)
17 - Elhadj Ousseynou Diouf (Bolton, England)
18 - Mamadou Niang (Marseille, France)
19 - Momar Ndiaye, (FC Metz, France)
20 - Modou Sougou (Union Deportivo De Liera, Portugal)
21 - Abdel Kader Mangane (Racing Club de Lens, France)
22 - Issa Ndoye (Zobehan, Iran)
23 - Bouna Coundoul (Colorado Rapids, USA)
24 - Souleymane Camara (Montpellier, France)
25 - Boukhary Dramé (FC Sochaux, France)
26 - Henri Camara (West Ham, England)
27 - Ferdinand Coly (Parme, Italia)
28 - Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye (Créteil, France)
29 - Souleymane Diawara (Bordeaux, France)
30 - Bayal Sall (Saint-Etienne, France)
31 - Diomansy Kamara (Fulham, England)
32 - Ibrahima Sidibé (Debrechen, Hungary)
33 - Ibrahima Sonko (Reading, England)
34 - Mouhamed Adama Sarr (Standard de Liège, Belgium)
35 - Frédéric Mendy (Bastia, France)
36 - Abdoulaye Diagne Faye (Newcastle, England)
37 - Lamine Diatta (Besiktas, Turkey)
38 - Moussa Ndiaye (UMM Salal Sport Club, Qatar)

Here are the ones that have been kept in the end.
- Keepers: Tony Sylva (Lille/FRA), Bouna Coundoul (Colorado Rapids/USA), Cheikh Tidiane Ndiaye (Créteil/FRA)

-Defenders: Habib Béye (Newcastle/ANG), Ibrahima Faye (Troyes/FRA), Guirane Ndaw (Sochaux/FRA), Abdoulaye Diagne Faye (Newcasttle, ANG), Ibrahima Sonko (Reading/ANG), Mohamed Adama Sarr (Standard Liège/BEL), Souleymane Diawara (Bordeaux/FRA), Lamine Diatta (clubless)

- Midfielders: Bayal Sall (Saint-Etienne/FRA), Pape Bouba Diop (Portsmouth/ANG), Ousmane Ndoye (Académie Coimbra/POR), Malick Bâ (FC Bâle/POR), Pape Waïgo Ndiaye (Gênes/ITA), Babacar Guèye (Metz/FRA), Diomansy Kamara (Fulham/ANG), Frédéric Mendy (Bastia/FRA)

- Strikers: El Hadji Diouf (Bolton/ANG), Mamadou Niang (Marseille/ANG), Henri Camara (West Ham/ANG), Modou Sougou (Leiria/POR).

Here is the video of the press conference commented live by ex-Marseille and PSG legend Boubacar Sarr on senegalese TV. It’s a pretty interesting watch.