Number of past World Cup appearances: 3
Best performance: Quarterfinals (2002)
First appearance: 2002 (Korea and Japan)
Top scorer: Papa Bouba Diop (3)
Most appearances: Kalidou Coulibaly, Yusuf Sabari, Ismaila Saar (7)
Player to watch: Sadio Mane
FIFA World Ranking: 14th place
In the first match of the 2002 World Cup, Senegal shocked the world by defeating defending champion France 1-0, coming out on top in a difficult group that also included Denmark and Uruguay.
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The Lions of Teranga followed up that upset by defeating Sweden in the last 16, before losing 1-0 to Turkiye in the quarter-finals.
Almost a quarter of a century later, Senegal are, if not officially, Africa’s strongest team, appearing in their third consecutive World Cup and appearing as outsiders with a chance of lifting the trophy.
Senegal are unbeaten in qualifying and have recently shown their strength against England, becoming the first African team to win by defeating the Three Lions 3-1 at Wembley in June last year.
Their recent AFCON final against Morocco may have been marred by a farce as they briefly walked off the pitch in protest of a penalty, but there is no doubting their individual talent and strength as a unit.
Senegal have “big dreams” to “achieve great things”, coach Pape Tiao said when announcing his 28-man squad earlier this month, but they will have to cut two players before the tournament.
Mane’s last World Cup performance
Veteran forward and captain Sadio Mane, 34, is set to play in his final World Cup but has said he will retire from international football after the tournament. Although age has robbed him of his once blistering pace, he is no slouch and retains a world-class touch, vision and leadership backed by experience.
Mane was named AFCON’s Player of the Tournament in January after helping Senegal reach the final and lifting the trophy with a sensational goal in the semi-final against Egypt in a 1-0 win.
He also took credit when he was embarrassed when some of his teammates and coaches refused to follow them and left the pitch, calling for the game to end.
Mane, who played alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi club Al Nasr, had a fairly mediocre performance in the Saudi Pro League with 10 goals and six assists, but helped his team win the title.
Mane will be desperate to make even more progress after missing the last World Cup due to injury, when he was at his peak.
He is Senegal’s all-time leading scorer with 53 goals in 126 appearances and will aim to add a few more to that tally if Senegal mounts a serious challenge.
Questions about Thiau’s judgment
Thiau took over as manager at the end of 2024, replacing long-serving Allu Cissé, and led the team to an unbeaten qualification, a famous victory over England and victory in the AFCON 2025 final.
But his judgment was severely lacking in the final, when he asked his players to leave the pitch when Morocco were awarded a controversial last-minute penalty.
Brahim Dias ultimately missed and Senegal won in extra time. However, while Thiau’s recklessness may have been responsible for Diaz missing the spot-kick, it is also possible that Thiau’s recklessness played a role in depriving his team of the title after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stripped Diaz of the cup.
The Senegalese will be hoping that Thiau will be more calm in the face of the inevitable adversity at the World Cup. Because he has built an extremely dangerous team.
Packed with talent
Many of Senegal’s players will be familiar to fans of Europe’s major leagues.
Nicholas Jackson – currently on loan at Bayern Munich from Chelsea – is a physical, fast striker who can play in all the right positions, even if he sometimes disappoints with his finishing.
Pacy winger Ismaila Sarr starred for Crystal Palace, helping them win the FA Cup and Europa League, as well as the win over England.
Pape Matar Sarr is a dynamic all-round talent in midfield, despite having had a disastrous season at Spurs.
Sunderland’s Khabib Diarra has emerged as a very exciting young midfielder and is attracting interest from big clubs, while Idrissa Gana Nguye and Lamine Kamara are solid anchors in the middle of the park and Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye is a wide-out class.
Meanwhile, former Chelsea and Napoli star Kalidou Koulibaly, now 35, brings a calm and experienced Nous to central defence.
There are also exciting teenagers in the squad, with Bayern’s 18-year-old midfielder Bala Ndiaye and PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye confirmed in the squad.
If there are any weaknesses, it’s that some of the key players are aging, the creative players may be a bit unstable, and this group may be the closest thing to the tournament’s “group of death.”
What about the Senegalese group?
Group I has strong teams France and Norway, and the match against Iraq could be a tricky one.
Senegal will look to repeat their 2002 shock in their opening match against France, but this time they will definitely not underestimate their African opponents.
The second leg against Norway could be just as tough as Koulibaly and others will have to stop goal-machine Erling Haaland if they are to get anything out of this game, but they will be looking to tighten up on a frequently watertight defense that was too stingy in qualifying.
The Senegalese will look to see off Iraq in good spirits after qualifying for the intercontinental play-off in the final stages, but they may feel they cannot afford to rest their star players depending on how the first two games go.
After all, even a match against the weakest opponent in the group will have little to fear for a confident and talented Senegal.
Senegal group match at the World Cup
⚽ June 16: France vs. Senegal (NJ, USA), 3:00 PM ET (19:00 GMT)
⚽ June 22: Norway vs Senegal (New Jersey, USA), 8pm ET (00:00 GMT)
⚽ June 26: Senegal vs Iraq (Toronto, Canada), 3pm ET (19:00 GMT)
Al Jazeera predictions
Quarterfinals.
Senegal will impress, but may lack the talent and creativity to ultimately become a challenger.
Senegal World Cup 2026 National Team
Goalkeepers: Edouard Mendy (Al Ahly), Molly Diaw (Le Havre), Yevan Diouf (Nice)
Defenders: Kalidou Koulibaly (Al Hilal), Abdoulaye Sek (Maccabi Haifa), Moussa Niakate (Lyon), Ismail Jacobs (Galatasaray), Mamadou Sarr (Strasbourg) ), Antoine Mendy (Nice), Eli Kamara (Anderlecht), El Hadji Malik Diouf (West Ham), Crepin Diatta (Monaco), Mustapha Mbouu (Paris FC)
Midfielders: Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham), Pate Sis (Ragio Vallecano), Pape Gueye (Villarreal), Lamine Camara (Monaco), Habib Diarra (Sunderland), Bala Sapoko Ndiaie (Bayern Munich)
Forwards: Sadio Mane (Al Nasr), Bamba Dieng (Lorient), Nicholas Jackson (Bayern Munich), Iliman Ndiay (Everton), Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace), Sherif Ndiay (Samsung Sport), Sheikh Sabari (Metz), Ibrahim Mbaye (PSG), Ahsan Diao (Como)
