Making their third appearance in a World Cup (2002 Quarter Finals, 2018 Group Stages) African side Senegal takes the stage on the international tournament once again. The ‘Lions of Teranga’ have a very talented team, featuring well-known names with plenty of experience. Senegal punched their ticket for Qatar after an intense qualifying campaign, including a controversial showdown against Egypt where they won on penalties.
Sharing Group With The Hosts Is Not Easy
In the majority of recent World Cups, the host nation usually makes it out of the group, if that is the case, Senegal will have to make do against an elite squad such as The Netherlands. The ‘Lions of Teranga’ make their debut against the KNBV on Monday, November 21st. This is the most important match for the African side, and there’s no doubt they will make a ferocious challenge to get points on match-day 1. If Senegal manages to get a good result against Netherlands they could certainly be in a manageable position to advance to the knockout stages.
Legendary Player Legendary Coach
The Senegal National Team is managed by Aliou Cissé, a former midfielder/defender who played for several important clubs during his playing career (Lille, PSG, Birmingham City, i.a.), and was a part of the squad that reached the Quarter Finals in the Korea Japan 2002 World Cup. In 2015 he took the job as head coach of his native country, and has carved his name in Senegal’s Football History. Cissé led the ‘Lions of Teranga’ to the 2019 African Cup of Nations final, and in 2021 he went on again and finally lifted the trophy. He knows this team really well and will certainly make use of his experience in the tournament.
Many African Stars On The Team
Senegal has an impressive list of players who are well known in football’s elite, for starters, and maximum referent is Bayern Munich’s mega-star attacker Sadio Mané. The former Liverpool forward has been an extremely important piece of this team, and has taken it to new heights. Aside from his goal scoring awareness, he is a very complete player who takes a leadership role, and contributes enormously to this team. Mané has 93 caps and 34 goals for the national team.
Other key assets include Chelsea’s FC duo; centre-back Kalidou Koulibaly (national team captain), and goalkeeper Edouard Mendy, Everton defender Idrissa Gueye (vice-captain), and Watford winger Ismaila Sarr. There’s certainly no lack of European club experience throughout the whole squad, but they will need to bring their a-game to the international stage.
Tough Start And No Margin Of Error
The African team is counting on finding their footing early in the tournament and a lot of their chances depend on their debut against Netherlands, if the ‘Lions of Teranga’ can manage to hold-off the Europeans, they will certainly be in a very good position to make it out of the group, and into the knockout stages. If Senegal makes it through, they’ll certainly be a team no one will like to encounter in an elimination game, and they could arguably make a push for the quarter finals, but not any further.
