Powerful Senegal will launch their 2019 Africa Cup of Nations campaign against Tanzania in Cairo Sunday without Liverpool star Sadio Mane, but coach Aliou Cisse is unconcerned. “Certainly the presence of Sadio is beneficial, but without him, we remain strong,” added the former Paris Saint-Germain midfielder ahead of the Group C clash. Mane also missed the opening match of the 2015 tournament in Equatorial Guinea against Ghana owing to a calf injury. Senegal v TanzaniaSenegal is ranked 22 in the world and Tanzania 131, making this the biggest mismatch on paper of the 36 first-round matches in Egypt. The huge ranking gap between the countries does not concern Tanzania coach Emmanuel Amunike, a Cup of Nations winner as a player with Nigeria 25 years ago.

Source: Punch June 22, 2019 13:07 UTC