Former Bristol City favourite named in Senegal World Cup squad - along with Sadio Mane

Former Bristol City striker Famara Diedhiou has made Senegal's 26-man squad for the World Cup in Qatar, along with Bayern Munich's Sadio Mane. Diedhiou was a popular figure at Ashton Gate and will also play alongside Chelsea pair Eduoard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly and Watford striker Ismaila Sarr.

Diedhiou, who frequently visits Bristol, where he still has a property, was a Robins player for four seasons and scored more than half a century of goals for the club. The 29-year-old joined from French club Angers in 2017 and went on to score 51 goals in 169 appearances.

The Senegal forward left City in the summer of 2021 after his contract expired. He now plays in the Turkish Super League for Alanyaspor, along with former right-back Pedro Pereira and ex-Norwich City midfielder Leroy Fer.

This is the first World Cup that Diedhiou will be involved in after being snubbed for Senegal's squad for the 2018 World Cup in Russia. Diedhiou will be hoping for more success on the international stage after Senegal's success in the Africa Cup of Nations earlier this year. Senegal beat Mohammed Salah's Egypt to win what was their first title with Diedhiou playing in five of their seven matches, including the final.

Senegal are in Group A along with hosts Qatar, Netherlands - managed by ex-Man United manager Louis Van Gaal and Ecuador. Their best performance at a World Cup was reaching the quarter-finals in 2002, which was hosted by Japan and South Korea.

Diedhiou is the fourth former Bristol City player to be called up for the tournament. Joe Morrell, who began his career at the club is in the Wales squad, along with Wayne Hennessey, who didn’t play a game for the Robins, but had a loan spell in 2006. Bailey Wright, who now plays for Sunderland is in the Australia squad. Former loanee Tammy Abraham and Adam Webster were not included in Gareth Southgate’s England squad.

Senegal squad

Goalkeepers: Seny Dieng (Queens Park Rangers), Alfred Gomis (Rennes), Edouard Mendy (Chelsea).

Defenders: Fode Ballo-Toure (AC Milan), Pape Abdou Cisse (Olympiakos), Abdou Diallo (RB Leipzig), Ismail Jakobs (Monaco), Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea), Formose Mendy (Amiens), Youssouf Sabaly (Real Betis).

Midfielders: Pathe Ciss (Rayo Vallecano), Krepin Diatta (Monaco), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton), Pape Gueye (Marseille), Cheikhou Kouyate (Nottingham Forest), Mamadou Loum Ndiaye (Reading), Nampalys Mendy (Leicester City), Moustapha Name (Pafos), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham Hotspur).

Forwards: Boulaye Dia (Salernitana), Famara Diedhiou (Alanyaspor), Bamba Dieng (Marseille), Nicolas Jackson (Villarreal), Sadio Mane (Bayern Munich), Iliman Ndiaye (Sheffield United), Ismaila Sarr (Watford).