Senegal’s World Cup 2026 team preview: Players to watch, group, squad list
Key takeaways
- Senegal arrive in their third consecutive World Cup as arguably the best side in Africa and aim to lift the trophy.
- In their first ever World Cup match in 2002, Senegal shocked the world by beating the defending champions France 1-0, and went on to top a tricky group that also included Denmark and Uruguay.
- The Lions of Teranga followed up that upset by knocking out Sweden in the last 16 and narrowly fell to Turkiye 1-0 in the quarterfinals.
Why this matters: an international story with cross-border implications worth tracking.
Senegal arrive in their third consecutive World Cup as arguably the best side in Africa and aim to lift the trophy.
xwhatsapp-strokecopylinkgoogle Add Al Jazeera on Googleinfo The 34-year-old Sadio Mane will be playing at his last World Cup [Ryan Pierse/Getty Images]By Al Jazeera Staff Published On 30 May 202630 May 2026Previous World Cup appearances: 3 Best performance: Quarterfinals (2002) First appearance: 2002 (South Korea and Japan) Top goal scorer: Papa Bouba Diop (3) Most appearances: Kalidou Koulibaly, Youssouf Sabaly, Ismaila Sarr (7) Player to watch: Sadio Mane FIFA world ranking: 14
In their first ever World Cup match in 2002, Senegal shocked the world by beating the defending champions France 1-0, and went on to top a tricky group that also included Denmark and Uruguay.