Spurs International watch: Bitter day for Tottenham midfielder

A disappointing afternoon collectively and individually

Pape Matar Sarr and his Senegal counterparts kicked off their Africa Cup Of Nations qualifying campaign against Burkina Faso on Friday, and were held to an extremely frustrating 1-1 draw at home.

They had taken the lead through veteran Sadio Mane 16 minutes into the game, and that goal seemed to have bene enough to secure all three points, but deep into stoppage time, late Burkina Faso substitute Ousseni Bouda scored from a set-piece to give his side a share of the spoils and force Senegal to settle for just a point.

Manager Aliou Cisse played Sarr in a wider role than he is used to, seemingly playing off the right hand side, with license to come inside as he opted for a 442 formation.

Spurs International watch: Bitter day for Tottenham midfielder

Sarr has been impressing for his country of late and has already shown much promise for the national side. He was in Senegal’s 2021 Africa Cup Of Nations squad as they successfully secured the trophy for the first time ever, despite being just 19 years old. He was voted the young African footballer of the year for 2022, an award previously won by the likes of Victor Osimhen, albeit this award also takes club form into account.

However, it was not his best game for the national team, far from it. This new role he was given did not seem to suit him, as he won only two of his eight duels, and only touched the ball 30 times in 68 minutes, losing possession with seven of those 30 touches, before being withdrawn for Mamadou Lamine Camara.

Still, the best thing about football is there is always another game. Sarr and Senegal will be looking to put things right as they travel to Burundi on Monday, who are currently top of their group, with kick-off being 14:00 BST and 09:00 ET.