We are less than 24 hours away from the start of the 2018 World Cup in Russia and it’s time to round off our profiles of all 32 competing nations with African side Senegal.
The Lions of Teranga are gearing up for only their second ever World Cup finals and their first since the 2002, when they made it all the way to the quarter-finals.
Aliou Cisse captained Senegal 16 years ago during their only prior experience of the World Cup and now the 42-year-old has guided his country to the finals as manager.
Senegal secured qualification for the World Cup in November, overcoming South Africa in a re-played fixture after the referee awarded a controversial penalty to their opponents in the original tie.
Drawn in a group without a recognised international heavyweight, Senegal will still have to overcome Japan, Poland and Colombia to progress from a very competitive group.
Poland and Colombia, inspired by Bayern Munich duo Robert Lewandowski and James Rodriguez, respectively, will offer Senegal the greatest threat for a top two finish but Cisse’s side have a star man of their own to count on.
Sadio Mane will be Senegal’s danger man this summer and the 26-year-old will be confident of leaving his mark on the biggest stage once again.
The Liverpool star scored in last month’s Champions League final, netting his 20th goal of the season in all competitions, as Liverpool fell to a 3-1 defeat to Real Madrid.
Unlike their Group H opponents, Senegal are not completely reliant on one player. West Ham ace Cheikhou Kouyate will captain the side, but it’s his midfield partner, Idrissa Gueye, that will steal the show in the middle of the park.
In the last three Premier League campaigns, only Chelsea ace N’Golo Kante (738) has completed more tackles and interceptions combined than Gueye (681) and Senegal will hope he can perform the same role as the France midfielder this summer.
Senegal are also well stocked in central defence, so much so that Cisse is expected to leave Salif Sane on the bench for their group opener against Poland next Tuesday.
The new Schalke defender finished the 2017/18 campaign in the WhoScored Team of the Season (7.34) rating but will have to settle for a role as a substitute, behind Kalidou Koulibaly and Kara.
Koulibaly, in particularly, will be key for Senegal at the back. The Napoli ace is regarded as one of the best defenders in Europe and has frequently been linked with big money moves away from the Serie A giants.
The 26-year-old scored five goals in Serie A last term, while also making the most forward passes in the division (1316).
As previous nations have experienced, a golden generation of players doesn’t guarantee success and it will be up to Cisse to get the best out of Senegal ‘s squad this summer.
However, there is no reason why Senegal cannot get out of the groups and equal their finish from 16 years ago.
