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Football – Senegal-Mikayil Faye: “I’ve proved myself”.
Called up to the Senegal national team for the first time, Mikayil Faye (19) is delighted to be in the Tanière with the desire to show all his know-how during this gathering. He intends to take advantage of the experience of the great players to integrate easily.
To face Gabon (March 22) and Benin (March 26) in friendly matches, Lions coach Aliou Cissé has called up 5 new players, including Mikayil Faye, the young defender from Barça B. Following the withdrawal of Fodé Ballo-Touré through injury, Mikayil Faye has been called up to reinforce the squad. Despite his presence in Barça’s youth ranks, he has a good reputation. Included in the Lions’ preliminary squad for the 2023 Africa Cup of Nations, he caught the eye of Aliou Cissé. Two months later, he was selected.
With 21 appearances for Barça B, Mikayil Faye is proving his talent and potential with each passing weekend, to the point of attracting the interest of several European clubs, including Girona and RC Lens for next summer. Having made his senior international debut after spells with the U17 and U20 teams, his progress is following a certain logic. The 19-year-old reacted on his first steps for the first time through the media of the Senegalese Football Federation. “It’s a pleasure to join the Senegalese national team. It’s pure happiness to be here,” he enthuses. Trained by Diambars, he talked about the background to his call-up.“Before playing a match for Barça, I was notified of a call from the coach. Later, we had a long chat on the phone.A few hours later, a member of the club staff told me he’d received an e-mail from the federation. It was a summons. All my team-mates were happy for me and we celebrated together,” says Mikayil Faye.
“I’m very well received
Powerful, imposing and technical, Mikayil Faye is also mentally strong and above all confident of his abilities.“I’m calm by nature and pressure doesn’t get to me. First of all, it’s thanks to God that I’ve been called up to the national team, but I’ve also proved myself on the pitch,” he explains. He dreams of seeing Aliou Cissé give him a chance to prove that he can bring his know-how to the national team. But he also intends to learn from the senior players who have a wealth of experience with the national team.“There are some great players in this team. So I’m going to learn a lot from my elders.They’ve made me feel very welcome.I already feel at home here, thanks to the great atmosphere,” says Mikayil Faye.
With the 2025 African Cup of Nations and the 2026 World Cup just around the corner, Faye is one of the candidates tipped to take part in these major events. His next decisions will therefore be important. Continue at Barça or look elsewhere for playing time at the highest level. The ball is in his court.
