By Lorraine Ruto,

Senegal coach Aliou Cissé has named a strong 23 man  squad to play Burundi in the first match day of the 2017 Africa Cup of Nations qualifiers.The former Senegal international will be handling his first match as coach since being appointed to the position.

Twenty-three players have been called up for the encounter holding in the Senegalese capital Dakar on June 13.

Fenerbahçe striker Moussa Sow and Dame Ndoye of Hull City were not invited for technical reasons, according to the coach.

Former captain Cisse is not taking anything for granted in his quest to rebuild the Teranga Lions their after early exit at the recent Africa Cup of Nations in Equatorial Guinea.

“We are considered top favourites in our group for the Nations Cup but that is for the newspaper,” said Cisse.

“In Africa you have no favourites or weak teams; it is exactly what we must show from the first game against Burundi.”

The Teranga Lions are pitted in Group K against Niger, Namibia and Burundi.

Squad

Goalkeepers: Abdoulaye Diallo (Le Havre, France), Lys Gomis (Trapani, Italie), Khadim Ndiaye (Horoya, Guinea)

Defenders : Zargo Touré (Le Havre, France), Lamine Gassama (Lorient, France), Victor Bindia (Sandefjord, Norway), Lamine Sané (Bordeaux, France), Cheikh Mbengue (Rennes, France), Papa Alioune Ndiaye (Bodo Glimt, Norway), Pape Souaré (Crystal Palace, England), Kara Mbodji Genk, Belgium)

Midfielders : Cheikhou Kouyaté (West Ham, England), Idrissa Gana Gueye (Lille, France), Stéphane Badji (Istanbul BB, Turkey), Alfred Ndiaye (Betis Séville, Spain), Salif Sané (Hanover, Germany), Sadio Mané (Southampton, England), Amara Diaby (Auxerre, France), Cheikh Ndoye (Créteil, France)

Forwards: Henri Saivet (Bordeaux, France), Demba Ba (Besiktas, Turkey), Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke City, England), Moussa Konaté (FC Sion, Switzerland)

Collins Okinyo

Ex- CAF Media Expert. An expert on African football with over 15 years experience ,always with an ear to the ground with indepth knowledge of the game. I have worked for top publications including 7 years at www.supersport.com until i founded www.soka25east.com to quench the thirst of football lovers across the continent. I have trained young upcoming journalists who are now a voice in African football.I have covered World Cup,AFCON,CHAN,Champions League,Confederations Cup,Cecafa,Cosafa,Wafu and many other football tournaments across the World. Founder Football Africa Arena(FAA),Founder www.afrisportdigital.com