Senegal World Cup 2018 profile: Best bets, ones to watch & more
Senegal reached the quarter-finals on their only previous World Cup appearance, can Sadio Mane's men match that in Russia?
Senegal Factfile
- FIFA World Ranking: 28
- Sky Bet outright winner odds: 150/1
- Best Bet: Sadio Mane to be Senegal's top scorer at 2/1
- World Cup appearances: 1
- Best World Cup finish: Quarter-finals (2002)
- Nickname: Les Lions de la Teranga (The Lions of Teranga)
Coach - Alou Cisse: A former national team captain, Cisse actually led Senegal to their only previous World Cup finals in 2002, when they shocked defending champions France en route to the last eight.
Legend - El Hadji Diouf: Love him or hate him, and for many it's the latter, you can't really ignore Diouf who was a star of Senegal's World Cup campaign in 2002. That side had a number of top players but Diouf was the big name after securing a move to Liverpool. It went downhill quickly thanks to Diouf's behaviour but he'll always be a star for Senegal.
Star Man - Sadio Mane: There's a strong and powerful squad heading to Russia, but Liverpool's Mane is the spearhead of their attack. He'll have the huge disappointment of losing the Champions League final to get over but a few goals in the World Cup will help with that.
Did you know? Almost all of their 2002 World Cup squad, 21 of the 23 in fact, were playing in French club football at the time - although several made high-profile moves after their performances.
Fun Fact: Wrestling is the national sport of Senegal.
Qualifying: They came through African qualifying comfortably as Group D winners, and they were undefeated as they finished five points clear of Burkina Faso.
Fixtures: Poland (4pm, June 19, Moscow), Japan (4pm, June 24, Ekaterinburg), Colombia (3pm, June 28, Samara)
Senegal squad
Goalkeepers: Khadim Ndiaye (Horoya AC), Abdoulaye Diallo (Rennes), Alfred Gomis (Torino)
Defenders: Kara Mbodji (Anderlecht), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Moussa Wague (Eupen), Saliou Ciss (Angers), Youssouf Sabaly (Bordeaux), Lamine Gassama (Alanyaspor), Armand Traore (Nottingham Forest), Salif Sane (Hannover 96)
Midfielders: Pape Alioune Ndiaye (Stoke), Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Cheikhou Kouyate (West Ham), Cheikh N'Doye (Birmingham)
Forwards: Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Diao Balde Keita (Monaco), Ismaila Sarr (Rennes), Diafra Sakho (Rennes), Moussa Konate (Amiens), Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke), Mbaye Niang (AC Milan)
Senegal Profile
They're back in the World Cup after 16 years and although it's only Senegal's second appearance in the tournament, they made the quarter-finals on their one and only other World Cup campaign so have a lot to live up to.
Their highest FIFA World Ranking is 23 (2017) and in a wide-open group they're 4/1 to win it.
Coach Alou Cisse was captain at the 2002 World Cup in South-Korea and Japan, and now he'll try and mastermind another deep run in the tournament.
Only the second African country to have reached the quarter-finals, they've got power, pace and strength and will not be the easiest of oppostion.
Who to watch out for
Liverpool’s Champions League finalist Sadio Mane is Senegal’s star man, with his blistering pace and eye for goal.
Everton’s Idrissa Gueye has had an impressive campaign at Goodison Park and could be instrumental in their progression.
Ex-West Ham striker Diafra Sakho, Stoke’s Mame Biram Diouf and Pape Alioune Ndiaye are also representing Senegal this summer.
How did they qualify?
Senegal topped Group D of African qualification winning three, drawing two and losing none, but it could have all been so different as they were two goals behind Madagascar in preliminary qualifying and staring down the barrel of a huge upset defeat.
They eventually prevailed 5-2 on aggregate - but it was even more rocky later on as they appealed to FIFA over the refereeing of Ghanaian Joseph Lamptey after a 2-1 defeat to South Africa.
Lamptey was found guilty of trying to manipulate the result and banned for life, and Senegal won the replayed game 2-0 in South Africa to secure qualification for Russia.
Any interesting facts about Senegal?
Wrestling is the national sport of Senegal.
The official language of Senegal is now French, however there are some of the population who still speak their own language, often referred to as Senegalese.
The Senegalese are very religious people, with the vast majority of the Islamic faith, however there are small sections of Christians.
Dakar is a huge tourist attraction, due to its spectacular coastline and easily accessible Goree Island, where Senegalese history is to be found in abundance.
Any famous football moments?
Senegal beat the defending 1998 World Cup champions France in the 2002 tournament 1-0, which contributed to France crashing out in the group stage, sending Senegal through to the round of 16 in their debut tournament.
2002 was a golden era for the Senegalese national side. They not only reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, but they had previously become African Cup of Nations runners-up earlier in the year, narrowly losing out to Cameroon in the final on penalties.