Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has retired from international football at the age of 34, according to what he announced on Sunday on his social media accounts, after 8 years and 59 international matches with the “Lions of Teranga” shirt.
The Saudi Al-Ahly goalkeeper, who during his professional career played for Marseille, Reims and Rennes in France, and Chelsea in England, wrote: “Gerijiv Senegal,” meaning thank you, Senegal, in the Wolfi language, accompanying his phrase with a video clip reviewing his most prominent moments with the Senegalese national team.
Mendy, who was given his international debut in 2018, reviewed in the video the victory in the 2021 African Cup of Nations after defeating Egypt on penalties, in addition to the 2025 edition title at the expense of the host Morocco after a final that was decided on the field in favor of his country 1-0, before the Confederation of African Nations later awarded the game to the hosts by administrative decision.
With his captain Khalidou Koulibaly, Idrissa Ghana Gui, and star Sadio Mane, Mendy embodied the golden generation of Senegalese football, and remained one of the pillars of the “Lions of Teranga” during the last World Cup finals held this summer in the United States, where the Senegalese were eliminated in the round of 32 by Belgium (2-3 after extra time).
The Senegalese national team praised Mendy, through his social media accounts, saying in his message: “There are careers that are measured by the number of international matches, titles, and statistics, and there are careers that are measured by the place they occupy in the memory of an entire people. Edouard Mendy, your story with the Teranga Lions now falls into this category.”
Khaled Al-Atawi, coach of Al-Fateh, confirmed that he is not afraid of any decisions that his club’s management might take, including dismissing him from leading the team during the suspension period, after the humble start in the Saudi Professional League championship. This came in the press conference he held after the new loss that Al-Fateh suffered against NEOM by four goals for Hadbin. Al-Atawi said: “I am a professional coach and I am not afraid of dismissal. We need continuity in working in order to improve the results.” Regarding the match, he said, “An equal match between the two sides. Success was not our side. The referees are better than us in the law regarding the hand.” He added, “The third match we lost points due to refereeing errors. We do not know whether they are right or wrong. I thank the players and the simple details because of which we lost.”
Regarding the negative impact of the departure of some players on the team during the current summer, such as Muhammad Al-Sarnoukh, Naif Issa, Vargaris and Bin Dabkeh, Al-Atawi responded by saying: “The team is in the process of building. We aspire for the best. Our team is new and we hope for improved results and victories during the coming rounds.”
The Saudi national basketball team defeated its Indonesian counterpart with a score of 100-89, at the conclusion of its group stage matches in the 20th Asian Games “Aichi-Nagoya 2026”, occupying third place in the first group of the competition.
Al-Akhdar is awaiting the results of Monday’s matches in the other group, which will definitively determine his position on qualifying for the next round with preference to third place in the competition groups.
On the other hand, Akhdar continued his swimming training at Camp Fuji, as part of the final stage of his preparatory program, in preparation for competing in the swimming competitions hosted by the Japanese capital, Tokyo, during the period from 20 to 25 September.
The Saudi mixed martial arts team also continued its training at the Fuji camp, in preparation for participating in the tournament’s competitions.
In the same context, Saudi karate team players Mohammed Al-Asiri, Saud Al-Bashir, Sanad Sufyani, Dina Mustafa, Jude Miyajan, and Rana Fayyad arrived at the Saudi team’s camp in the city of Fuji, to begin the final stage of their preparations before moving to Nagoya, where Al-Akhdar is undergoing his final training to raise the level of technical and physical readiness, in preparation for the karate competitions.
