Sunderland have just two players left at the African Cup of Nations after Tuesday’s developments
Sunderland have received yet another timely selection boost, with international trio Noah Sadiki, Arthur Masuaku, and Bertrand Traore all knocked out of this year’s African Cup of Nations at the round of 16 stage.
Earlier in the week, full-back Reinildo Mandava and his Mozambique squad had fallen at the same hurdle courtesy of a crushing 4-0 defeat at the hands of Nigeria, and on Tuesday evening, it was the turn of Sadiki, Masuaku, and Traore to see their dreams for this year’s tournament dissipate.
For their part, Sadiki and Masuaku - both key members of DR Congo’s side - suffered a cruel extra time exit at the hands of Algeria, with Adil Boulbina striking for the Fennec Foxes in the 119th minute to secure a 1-0 victory. Later in the day, Bertrand Traore and Burkina Faso were soundly beaten 3-0 by the Ivory Coast, with former Sunderland loanee Amad Diallo opening the scoring.
As such, all three players, as well as Reinildo, are now expected to return to Wearside in short order. Wednesday night’s Premier League trip to Brentford will come too soon for the quartet, but there is a chance that they could feature in some capacity against Everton in the FA Cup on Saturday lunchtime. Sunderland’s next fixture after their meeting with the Toffees is a home game against Crystal Palace in the league on January 17th.
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Which Sunderland players are still at the African Cup of Nations?
At the time of writing, the Black Cats still have two players away on international duty at AFCON. Winger Chemsdine Talbi has featured once for host nation Morocco so far in the competition, and will be part of a squad who come up against Cameroon in their quarter-final, to be played at 7pm on Friday.
Earlier in the day, at 4pm, Sunderland’s record signing Habib Diarra will be hoping to feature for Senegal as they take on Mali. The midfielder had been sidelined for a long period with a groin complaint in the build-up to the tournament, but made a cameo for Regis Le Bris’ men against Brighton and Hove Albion in December, and has since registered two appearances - including a start against Benin in the round of 16 - for Pape Thiaw’s national side.
Speaking ahead of the tournament, Diarra made it clear that he believes he and his compatriots have what it takes to make it all the way to the final on January 21st. In an interview with Sunderland’s official website, he said: “I’m confident because Senegal have a good squad but we stay humble. It’s one game after another. If you lose, it’s complicated. I think Senegal have a really good team. It’s a big squad. Everybody wants to win this AFCON and Senegal have to win. For me, they are the best team in Africa.”