Increasing his list from 28 to 26 names just before the 2026 World Cup, Senegalese coach Pape Thiaw made two victims with Ilay Camara (23 years old, Anderlecht) and Moustapha Mbow (26 years old, Paris FC). A disappointment for both players which leaves room for a big surprise, the presence of Bara Sapoko Ndiaye. A young 18-year-old midfielder, the native of Mékhé has just experienced a crazy trajectory since he did not have the opportunity to make his professional debut before last April.
Belonging to the Gambian club Gambinos Stars, Bara Sapoko Ndiaye took the time to grow. In 2025, he trained for two months with Bayern Munich’s U19s before joining Swiss club Grasshopper Zurich last summer for a pre-season training camp. Finally, it was last January that he arrived at Bayern Munich in the form of a loan in order to be able to play with the reserve and possibly the first team. However, the beautiful story could have turned into a nightmare with an injury keeping him away from the field until April.
Appeared in April, at the World Cup in June
But that didn’t stop Vincent Kompany from betting on him. The Belgian coach was convinced of what he saw in training and launched it against Sankt-Pauli (5-0) on April 11. “Unfortunately he was injured, otherwise he probably would have had his chance sooner. He entered the match very well and wasn’t nervous, even though it was his first time at this level.”confided sports director Max Eberl. His coach Vincent Kompany was eager to see him again: “We can’t wait to see what his personality has in store for us. He demonstrated that he is one of the young talents of our Bayern training center. »
Playing 14 minutes against Stuttgart (4-2) in the following match, he will start against Mainz (4-3) and will play a half against Hoffenheim (3-3). Four appearances in a very competitive environment which went well, as Bara Sapoko Ndiaye told the magazine 51 : “In Gambia, I always played against players my age. Here I train with world-class players and I have a top coach in Vincent Kompany. I really enjoy it and see it as a great opportunity. »
A crazy trajectory since his acclimatization to the Rekordmeister allowed him to be called up to Pape Thiaw’s 28 for the World Cup with Senegal. Launched against the United States last Sunday in a defeat (3-2), he showed a pretty face alongside Lamine Camara. Playing the 90 minutes of play, he convinced Pape Thiaw to select him in place of Ilay Camara and Moustapha Mbow even though he was initially planned for the two failed players. A nice feat for the one who will be one of the youngest in the competition even though it was not at all included in the plans a few weeks ago.
