Senegal World Cup 2026 squad preview: Players to watch, squad, squad list | World Cup 2026 news

Back in the day the World Cup looked like this: 3
Best practice: Quarterfinals (2002)
First appearance: 2002 (South Korea and Japan)
Top scorer: Papa Bouba Diop (3)
Most visible: Kalidou Koulibaly, Youssouf Sabaly, Ismaila Sarr (7)
Player to watch: Sadio Mane
FIFA World Cup: 14

In their first World Cup match in 2002, Senegal stunned the world by beating defending champions France 1-0, and topped a treacherous group that included Denmark and Uruguay.

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The Lions of Teranga followed up this upset by knocking out Sweden in the last 16 and narrowly falling to Turkiye 1-0 in the quarterfinals.

In almost a quarter of a century, Senegal will reach the third World Cup in a row – if not officially – best place in africa, and who may be outsiders to lift the cup.

Senegal are unbeaten in qualifying, and have spoken strongly against England recently, becoming the first African team to beat the Three Lions who won 3-1 at Wembley last June.

Their recent AFCON record against Morocco was perhaps confused with farce after temporarily leaving the field in protest over a fine, but there is no doubting their ability or strength as a team.

Senegal have “big dreams” to “achieve big things”, said coach Pape Thiaw while revealing A group of 28 people earlier this month – which they have to cut by two players before the tournament.

Mane’s last World Cup performance

Former striker and captain Sadio Mane, 34, is expected to play in his final World Cup – he said he will retire from international football after the tournament. Although old age has taken a toll on his old ways, he is no slouch and still has the global ambitions, vision and leadership to match his experiences.

Mane was named AFCON player of the year in January after inspiring Senegal to the final, scoring a stunning goal in a 1-0 semi-final win over Egypt before lifting the trophy.

He also famously appeared when some of his teammates and coaches were embarrassed when he refused to follow them off the field and called for them to finish the game.

Playing alongside Cristiano Ronaldo at Saudi club Al-Nassr, Mane returned 10 goals and six assists in the Saudi Pro League, but helped his team win the title.

Mane will be eager to progress after missing the last World Cup through injury at the peak of his career.

He is Senegal’s all-time top scorer with 53 goals in 126 games, and will be looking to add a few more if Senegal are to make a real challenge.

Questions on Thiaw’s judgment

Thiaw replaced long-serving coach Aliou Cisse as manager at the end of 2024, and led his team to an unbeaten run, a historic win over England, and a place in the AFCON 2025 final.

However, his judgment in the finals was very rare when he called his players off the pitch when Morocco were awarded a last-minute penalty.

Brahim Diaz eventually missed, and Senegal won in extra time. But while Thiaw’s carelessness may have kept Diaz from missing the goal, it may have also helped his side spoil their title after the Confederation of African Football (CAF) stripped them of the trophy.

Senegal will be hoping Thiaw can be the man to guide them through the inevitable World Cup challenges, as he has built a formidable side.

Full of talent

Many Senegalese players have been adapting to the big European leagues.

Nicolas Jackson – on loan to Bayern Munich from Chelsea – is a physical, athletic player who is in good position, although his finishing sometimes lets him down.

The pacy striker Ismaila Sarr has been very successful at Crystal Palace, helping them win the FA Cup and the Europa League, and he helped win England.

Pape Matar Sarr is a talented midfielder, although he endured a miserable season at Spurs.

Sunderland’s Habib Diarra is emerging as a very exciting young player, and is attracting interest from the big clubs, while Idrissa Gana Gueye and Lamine Camara are solid anchors in the middle of the park, and Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye is a versatile team.

Meanwhile, former Chelsea and Napoli midfielder Kalidou Koulibaly, now 35, brings stability and experience to the central defense.

There are also exciting youngsters coming through, with Bayern’s 18-year-old Bara Ndiaye and PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye announced in the squad.

If there are weaknesses, maybe some of the big stars are getting old and the creative players can be a little inconsistent – and that the team is the closest to being the “team of death” of the competition.

What does the Senegal team look like?

Group I features formidable teams in France and Norway, as well as a tough game against Iraq.

Senegal will be looking to repeat their shock 2002 start against France, who will not be taking their African opponents lightly this time around.

Second game, versus Norwaythey can be as strong as Koulibaly and his partner will try to stop goal-scoring machine Erling Haaland if they are to get something out of this game – although they will be boosted by their watertight defense which has struggled to qualify.

The Senegalese will help themselves to see off Iraq, who made it to the finals of the international competition, although they may not feel they have the chance to rest any stars based on the performance of the first two games.

In the end, even a match against the rarest opposition in their group will hold little fear for the confident and talented Senegalese.

Senegal teams at the World Cup

⚽ June 16: France vs Senegal (New Jersey, United States), 3pm ET (19:00 GMT)
⚽ June 22: Norway vs Senegal (New Jersey, United States), 8pm ET (00:00 GMT)
⚽ June 26: Senegal vs Iraq (Toronto, Canada), 3pm ET (19:00 GMT)

Al Jazeera’s prediction

Quarterfinals.

Senegal will impress but in the end they may lack the talent and skill to be the opposition.

Senegal World Cup 2026 squad

Scorers: Edouard Mendy (Al-Ahly), Mory Diaw (Le Havre), Yehvann Diouf (Nice)

Protectors: Kalidou Koulibaly (Al Hilal), Abdoulaye Seck (Maccabi Haifa), Moussa Niakhate (Lyon), Ismail Jakobs (Galatasaray), Mamadou Sarr (Strasbourg), Antoine Mendy (Nice), Ilay Camara (Anderlecht), El Hadji Malick Diourefpin Msomali (West Ham), El Hadji Malick Diourefpin (West Ham), FC)

Middle players: Idrissa Gana Gueye (Everton), Pape Matar Sarr (Tottenham), Pathe Ciss (Rayo Vallecano), Pape Gueye (Villarreal), Lamine Camara (Monaco), Habib Diarra (Sunderland), Bara Sapoko Ndiaye (Bayern Munich).

Players: Sadio Mane (Al Nassr), Bamba Dieng (Lorient), Nicolas Jackson (Bayern Munich), Iliman Ndiaye (Everton), Ismaila Sarr (Crystal Palace), Cherif Ndiaye (Samsunspor), Cheikh Sabaly (Metz), Ibrahim Mbaye (PSG), Assane Diao (Como).