Liverpool centre-back Virgil Van Dijk has charged Senegal’s Sadio Mane and Egypt’s Mohamed Salah to make the club proud at the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations.
After Sunday’s draw at Stamford Bridge, the African stars turned their attention to the continental competition in Cameroon.
Mane and Salah scored a goal each in the Reds’ 2-2 draw against Chelsea on Sunday before they were released for the trip to Cameroon.
The Afcon finals will begin on January 9 with the opening fixture between the Indomitable Lions and Burkina Faso.
Mane left England for Thies with Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy a few hours after the game in London while Salah will join his Egypt teammates in Cairo before they leave for Cameroon later in the week.
Van Dijk, in his message to Salah and Mane, said they should challenge to win the continental showpiece that Algeria claimed in 2019 after they defeated Senegal 1-0 in Egypt.
“We will keep going. Good luck to our African players at AFCON, make us proud,” Van Dijk said per King Fut.
“I just told Sadio and Mo: ‘I wish you all the best in the Africa cup’. You’re already legends there, but everyone knows how it feels to play for your country.
“Go and try with everything you have and try and win it. Then you become an even bigger legend.
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“They have the right to fight for prizes, each prize that comes, as we all have the right to fight for prizes.”
Senegal will begin their Group B campaign against Zimbabwe on January 10 while Egypt find themselves in Group D and they will face Nigeria on January 11.
Meanwhile, Liverpool continue their challenge for the League Cup without the African duo when they battle Arsenal in the semi-final on Thursday.