Senegal goalkeeper Mendy retires from international football

Senegal's goalkeeper #16 Edouard Mendy eyes the ball as he jumps to stop it during the Qatar 2022 World Cup round of 16 football match between England and Senegal at the Al-Bayt Stadium in Al Khor, north of Doha on December 4, 2022. [AFP]

Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, 34, announced his international retirement on his social media accounts on Sunday, after eight years and 59 caps with the Lions of Teranga.

"Jerejef (Thank you) Senegal," Mendy posted in Wolof, the principle language of the country, above a video montage retracing his greatest moments in the Senegal shirt.

Born in France, Mendy, who has played top level club football for Marseille, Reims, Rennes and Chelsea and is currently in Saudi Arabia with Al-Ahli, was handed his international debut by Aliou Cisse in 2018.

He was in the Senegal side that won the Africa Nations Cup on penalties against Egypt in 2021 and also played at last year's event which Senegal won 1–0 on the pitch before it was later awarded to hosts Morocco instead by the Confederation of African Football (CAF).

The Court of Arbitration for Sport will hear Senegal's appeal on October 8.

Together with captain Kalidou Koulibaly, Idrissa Gana Gueye and superstar Sadio Mane, Mendy embodied Senegal's golden generation.

He played at the 2022 World Cup and was still a key part of the side at the 2026 edition in the United States, where they were knocked out in the round of 16 by Belgium (3–2).

The Senegalese national team, now coached by Patrick Vieira, also paid tribute to him on their social media accounts.

"There are careers that are measured in caps, trophies and statistics," they posted. "And then there are those that are measured by the place they hold in the memory of a people. Edouard Mendy, your story with the Lions now belongs to that category."