Senegal is an African nation representing the FIFA World Cup 2022 and is one of the strongest teams in Western Africa. Senegal was previously a part of the French Colonial Empire from 1895 to 1960.
Senegal’s men’s senior team has qualified for only three soccer World Cups. As of August 25, 2022, FIFA ranks 18 for the Senegal national men’s football team. Let’s learn more about Senegalese football history, Qatar World Cup preparation, and their current squad.
Brief History of Senegalese Football
Senegal was a part of France’s Colonial Empire from 1895 to 1960, and it was called French Senegal. During the French colonial period, Senegal formed a team and played matches with France’s second division. It also played friendly games with other French colonial nations, Algeria and Tunisia.
During France’s Colonial era, a couple of Senegalese players were also represented in the World Cup football as a part of the French team. In 1960 France’s colonization empire ended, and Senegal regained their independence. That same year, their national football association, the Senegalese Football Federation (SFF).
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Senegal played their first international match with Benin, a 3-2 loss on December 31, 1961. Next year, it received affiliation from FIFA and CAF (Confederation of African Football).
Une Passion unique 💯
— CAF – FR (@caf_online_FR) August 28, 2022
Le pays avec les meilleurs fans Africains est …… ✍️#TotalEnergiesAFCON pic.twitter.com/3mVkKLkiEG
In 1965, Senegal participated in the African Nations Cup and ended the competition with the fourth position; it lost the third-place match to the Ivory Coast. However, it was out of the group stage and did not qualify until 1986. Senegal then played several FIFA world Cups qualifiers but could not pass the final round until 2002.
Senegal at the FIFA World Cup Football
One of the CAF’s current strong teams, Senegal, previously made two appearances in World cup football. In 2002 for the first time, Senegal passed the qualifying round and played in the FIFA World Cup. They defeated the 1998 World Champion France in the tournament’s first match as their world cup debut match. Following, it drew Uruguay and Denmark to surpass the group stage.
The Senegalese men also beat Sweden in the next round. They reached the tournament’s quarterfinals in the first World Cup appearance. But, it lost the match against Turkey with a 1-0 score in the tournament’s quarterfinals.
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During that time, Senegal became the second African nation to reach at quarterfinals after Cameroon in 1990. Japan and South Korea hosted the 2002 World Cup jointly, and Brazil won the competition defeating Germany in the final match.
However, the Senegalese team failed to qualify for the next three world Cups (2006, 2010, and 2014). It came back in the Russia World cup 2018 but exited from the group stage. Many Senegalese players play professional footballs from Europe’s top leagues; Premier League, Ligue 1, Laliga, and Bundesliga. Senegalese top scorer player Sadio Mané currently plays for German Club Bayern Munich.
Senegal FIFA World Cup 2022 squad/preparation
Senegal is one of the teams from the African region to participate in the Qatar World Cup 2022. It made its place for the twenty-second edition of the FIFA World Cup, winning the second league with Egypt.
Senegal will play two friendly matches against Iran and Bolivia in Austria-Vienna before Qatar World Cup in September 2022. Qatar World Cup begins on November 20 with Qatar and Ecuador’s game.
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Senegal will be in Group A, which includes host Qatar, Ecuador, and the Netherlands. It will play the first match with the Netherlands on November 21, 2022, at Al Thumama Stadium. Currently, Aliou Cisse is the manager, and Kalidou Kolibeli is the captain of the Senegalese team. The potential World Cup 2022 squad of Senegal is here.
- GK: Bingourou Kamara (Charleroi)
- GK: Edouard Mendy (Chelsea)
- GK: Alioune Badara Faty (Casa Sports)
- DF: Saliou Ciss (Nancy)
- DF: Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli)
- DF: Pape Abou Cisse (Olympiacos)
- DF: Fode Ballo-Toure (Milan)
- DF: Abdoulaye Seck (Antwerp)
- DF: Bouna Sarr (Bayern Munich)
- DF: Youssouf Sabaly (Real Betis)
- DF: Abdou Diallo (PSG)
- MF: Idrissa Gueye (PSG)
- MF: Papy Mendy (Leicester)
- MF: Cheikhou Kouyate (Crystal Palace)
- MF: Pape Gueye (Marseille)
- MF: Pape Matar Sarr (Metz)
- MF: Mamadou Loum (Alaves)
- MF: Moustapha Name (Paris)
- FW: Keita Balde (Cagliari)
- FW: Sadio Mane (Liverpool)
- FW: Boulaye Dia (Villarreal)
- FW: Habib Diallo (Strasbourg)
- FW: Bamba Dieng (Marseille)
- FW: Ismaila Sarr (Watford)
- FW: Mame Thiam (Kayserispor)
- FW: Famara Diedhiou (Alanyaspor)
