Senegal head into a second consecutive appearance at the World Cup as the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions.
No country from Africa made it through to the last 16 in Russia four years ago, but Senegal are widely fancied to advance from their group and reach the knockout stages this time around.
A number of Senegal’s players are playing in Europe’s biggest leagues, and there’s as much excitement around this side as there ever has been; the Lions of Teranga have only ever appeared in the World Cup twice before now.
Here’s what to expect from them at the 2022 World Cup.
Senegal manager Aliou Cisse will announce his final World Cup squad on November 11.
Bayern Munich’s Bouna Sarr is a likely absentee for Senegal, but the headline news is that his club teammate and national icon Sadio Mane is also set to miss the tournament.
Mane limped off 20 minutes into Bayern’s penultimate game before the start of the tournament, and it’s thought that a tendon injury will prevent him from featuring in Qatar.
Official confirmation is still to come, but his absence would be a catastrophic blow.
Sadio Mane
Senegal’s best player is pretty easy to identify because he’s also one of the best players in the world – evidenced by his second-placed finish at the 2022 Ballon d’Or awards.
Mane has 93 international caps and 34 goals to his name for Senegal, but his crowning glory moment came in 2021 when lifting the Africa Cup of Nations. At club level, he has been one of Liverpool’s greatest threats for the past half a dozen years, and is now the star turn in Bayern Munich’s formidable attack.
Kalidou Koulibaly
Kalidou Koulibaly is Senegal’s rock in central defence, and their chances of making the last 16 will depend hugely on his level of performance.
The Chelsea star is treading new ground in the Premier League with Chelsea and his experience of playing at the highest level could help Senegal in the big moments.
Edouard Mendy
Edouard Mendy is one of the world’s most outstanding goalkeepers, though he has lost his way in recent times at club level.
Replaced by Kepa Arrizabalaga as Chelsea’s number one, Mendy will feel he has a point to prove for Senegal – and what better stage to do it than the biggest one of all.
Idrissa Gueye
Idrissa Gueye has been a midfield stalwart for Senegal over the past decade, and is closing in on 100 caps for his country.
In fact, Gueye, who recently returned to Everton after a stint at Paris Saint-Germain, could reach the landmark appearance figure if Senegal reach the knockout stages – clear incentive for him to be at his absolute best for Aliou Cisse.
Aliou Cisse has generally favoured a 4-3-3 setup during his time as Senegal boss, and there’s no reason to think he won’t continue with the winning formula.
Sadio Mane’s probable absence will be a huge blow, but could represent a huge opportunity for Iliman Ndiaye – who has been performing well for Sheffield United this season.
Senegal predicted XI: Mendy; Sabaly, Koulibaly, Diallo, Ballo-Toure; Gueye, Mendy, Sarr; Sarr, Dia, Ndiaye.
Senegal’s 2021 Africa Cup of Nations success was actually held during this calendar year, so it’s been a pretty good 12 months for them.
Victory over Egypt in their World Cup play-off was another huge feather in their camp, and they’ve won all but one of their subsequent AFCON qualifiers.
Senegal’s last five results (all competitions)
Senegal 1-1 Eswatani (10-9 pens)
Zambia 4-3 Senegal
Mozambique 1-1 Senegal (2-4 pens)
Senegal 2-0 Bolivia
Senegal 1-1 Iran
There’s a lot of optimism surroudning Senegal ahead of the World Cup for a number of reasons.
Not only do they have a number of talented players and a manager who knows how to set them up, they’ve also been handed a relatively kind draw, only needing to score more points than Qatar and Ecuador to reach the last 16.
They should be able to do that, but will probably finish second to the Netherlands and therefore face England (in all probability) in the next round. While they’d certainly have a chance against Gareth Southgate’s men, beating them is maybe too big a task – particularly without Mane.
Prediction: Round of 16