| Opponent | Score | Date |
|---|---|---|
Egypt
|
L | 29/03/2022 |
|
Egypt
|
L | 25/03/2022 |
Congo
|
L | 14/11/2021 |
Togo
|
L | 11/11/2021 |
Namibia
|
L | 12/10/2021 |
| Club | MP | W | D | L | GD | Pts | GF | GA |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
 Ecuador |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
 Netherlands |
2 | 1 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | 1 |
 Senegal |
2 | 1 | 0 | 1 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 3 |
 Qatar |
2 | 0 | 0 | 2 | -4 | 0 | 1 | 5 |
Group A
29/11/2022
Stadium
STARTS AT
16:00 GMT+0100Khalifa International Stadium
The Senegal World Cup squad contains some of Europe’s top players in every position. This has seen them develop into the leading African nation and a potential surprise package of the Qatar 2022 Finals.
Chelsea’s Champions League winner Édouard Mendy starts in goal, whilst rugged defender Kalidou Koulibaly leads the backline. Idrissa Gueye of PSG and Cheikhou Kouyaté of Crystal Palace provide the bite in midfield, allowing the rapid Ismaïla Sarr and star player Sadio Mané to shine up front.
Senegal were drawn against foes Egypt in their final qualification playoff. The two had met recently in the Africa Cup of Nations Final – billed as the Mané vs Mohamed Salah Final – in a tight game which Senegal won on penalties. In this two-legged playoff decider, a first leg 1-0 Egypt left it all to do for Senegal.
However, an early goal from Boulaye Dia evened things up and the sides couldn’t be separated until the end of extra time. Another penalty shootout was needed, in which Mane scored the decisive spot kick after Salah had missed for Egypt earlier on.
Aliou Cissé may be familiar to English football fans for his time at Birmingham City and Portsmouth from 2002 to 2006, playing as a rather conservative defensive midfielder. He also had various spells at French clubs, including Paris Saint-Germain, before retiring in 2009.
After also playing for Senegal 35 times and captaining the side at the 2002 World Cup, Cissé was moved into the international set-up in 2013 looking after the Under 23 side. Doing well here, he was offered the senior position two years later and set about transforming the side into tournament winners.
They finished runners-up at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations and won the tournament in 2021. Combined with the impressive qualifying campaign and once-in-a-generation pool of players, Cissé is set to lead the 2022 Senegal World Cup squad to a positive tournament in Qatar.
Recent Chelsea signing Kalidou Koulibaly is an aggressive, physically strong defender who likes to play on the front foot both on and off the ball. As he moved from Metz to Genk and then to Napoli in Serie A, his rise to the top went under the radar somewhat in recent years.
Despite being born and raised in France, and playing for the French Under 20 side, Koulibaly switched allegiance to Senegal in 2015. He has been a consistent feature of their team ever since and was named captain of the 2021 Africa Cup Nations squad, although this is an honour sometimes given to Sadio Mané as well.
Among Senegal’s national team, their top scorers are:
Among Senegal’s national team, players with the most assists are:
all with 5 assists each.
Senegal typically play a 4-3-3 formation, where Mané is utilised as one of the wide forwards – either from the left or right. This is a position he was very effective in playing at Liverpool for many years.
Although Senegal begin the tournament with a tough game against the Netherlands on 21st November, they will fancy their chances against Qatar and Ecuador in the remaining group games. With some top players in the squad who’ve experience of winning the AFCON title just last year, they could be the outsiders who progress furthest.
Twenty years ago, Senegal produced the best World Cup performance in their history, famously beating France in the opening game and eventually reaching the quarter-finals where they unfortunately lost to Turkey in extra time.
