FIFA clears 3 former France U21 players to represent Senegal

<p>ZURICH &mdash; Three former France Under-21 players had their international eligibility switched to Senegal by FIFA on Tuesday.</p>
<p>Paris Saint-Germain defender Abdou Diallo, Monaco defender Fodé Ballo-Touré and Leicester midfielder Nampalys Mendy can transfer the use of family ties because they never played for France’s senior team.</p>
<p>All three are now able to represent Senegal in the African Cup of Nations and 2022 World Cup qualifying games.</p>
<p>The Senegal team featuring Liverpool forward Sadio Mané has already advanced to the Cup of Nations, kicking off in Cameroon next January, before its final qualifying group games this month. </p>
<p>All three new recruits were selected last week in the squad to play at Republic of Congo on Friday and next Tuesday at home to Eswatini, the former Swaziland.</p>
<p>Senegal starts its World Cup qualifying program in May, in a group with Republic of Congo, Namibia and Togo. The group winner advances to a playoff round.</p>
<p>At the 2018 World Cup, Senegal was eliminated from the group stage on a <a href="https://apnews.com/article/67ae577eebd04b5e92e7387d75db7909">disciplinary record tiebreaker that sent Japan through</a>.</p>
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