Overview
In their first match at the World Cup in 2002, Senegal shocked by defeating defending champion France with a score of 1-0. After that, they topped the highly difficult group, alongside other opponents Denmark and Uruguay.
After that surprise victory, Senegal continued to defeat Sweden in the round of 16 and only lost to Turkey with a score of 0-1 in the quarterfinals.
After 24 years, the Senegalese team participates in the 2026 World Cup as one of the strongest teams in Africa and is considered a potential candidate for the championship.
In the qualifiers, Senegal was undefeated. Then, they defeated England 3-1 at Wembley Stadium in a friendly match in June 2025. At the 2025 African Cup, Senegal defeated host Morocco 1-0 in the final.
After that, they were stripped of their title by the African Football Confederation (CAF) and defeated 0-3 due to an incident of leaving the field to protest, thereby awarding the championship cup back to the Moroccan team. Despite these things, the Senegalese team is still considered a strong team, possessing many outstanding individuals, capable of creating surprises at the 2026 World Cup.
However, in the most recent friendly match, Senegal lost to the USA 2-3. The African team will also have a match against Saudi Arabia on June 9 to review the squad for the last time, before entering the journey to conquer the 2026 World Cup.
Star-studded squad
The Teranga Lions - nicknames of the Senegalese team gather many players familiar to fans. The most famous name is Sadio Mane, who won the UEFA Champions League with Liverpool and just won the Saudi Pro League with Ronaldo at Al Nassr club.
At the age of 34, Mane is no longer too agile. However, his rich playing experience and finishing ability are still very formidable. To date, Mane has scored 55 goals in 127 matches for the national team, including many decisive goals. Many other stars are side by side with Mane in the Senegal national team.
Nicolas Jackson - currently playing for Bayern Munich on loan from Chelsea - is a striker with good physique, fast speed and always present in favorable positions, although sometimes his finishing ability is not really stable.
Fast winger Ismaila Sarr shone at Crystal Palace, helping them win the FA Cup and Europa League, and played an important role in the victory against England.
Pape Matar Sarr is a versatile and dynamic talent in midfield, even though he had a terrible season at Tottenham, only staying in the league in the final round.
Habib Diarra of Sunderland is emerging as a promising young midfielder and attracting interest from bigger clubs, while Idrissa Gana Gueye and Lamine Camara are solid pillars in midfield, and Iliman Ndiaye of Everton is a classy player on the wing.
Meanwhile, former Chelsea and Napoli star, Kalidou Koulibaly, currently 35 years old, brings calmness and rich experience to the center-back position.
In addition, there are also promising young talents emerging, including 18-year-old midfielder Bara Ndiaye of Bayern and Ibrahim Mbaye of PSG named in the squad.
The weakness that may hinder Senegal's championship ambitions is that some of their stars are old, their creative players are unstable, and there is no world-class coach... Besides, this African team also fell into a very heavy group.
Difficult group
Senegal is in Group I with France - a team considered a strong candidate for the championship, alongside Norway and Iraq.
Senegal will try to repeat the shocking victory of 2002 in the opening match against France, the team will certainly have to be very vigilant against Sadio Mane and his teammates.
The second match, against Norway, may be no less difficult when Koulibaly and his teammates have to try to stop the scoring machine Erling Haaland. If they win this match, Senegal's door to the next round will be very wide.
In the last group stage match, Senegal has many opportunities to defeat Iraq - the team participating in the tournament through the Intercontinental play-off spot.
