Getting to know Senegal: Competing in just their second World Cup in history, Senegal will win plenty of fans for their fast, attacking play and have the potential to repeat their heroics from the 2002 World Cup.
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Senegal eased through qualifying in Africa after plenty of years of underperforming and this current crop of players have a wealth of experienced across Europe’s top leagues which they will need to use just to get out of a tough group. For more on Senegal’s history, click here.
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What group are they in? Group H is a very even group where all four teams could easily finish top. Japan are perhaps the underdogs but Poland, Colombia and Senegal are all fancied to finish atop the table. Poland v Senegal in the opener should be a cracker.
Game schedule – Group H – Full 2018 World Cup schedule, here
Tuesday, June 19: Poland v Senegal, Moscow (Spartak) 11am, ET
Sunday, June 24: Japan v Senegal, Ekaterinburg 11am, ET
Thursday, June 28: Senegal v Colombia, Samara 10am, ET
Projected lineup (4-3-3) – Check out the 23-man squad list in full
–— N’Diaye —–
— Sabaly —— Koulibaly — Sane —- Gassama —
—- Kouyate — Gueye —- N’Diaye —–
— Mane — Sow — Balde —
Star player: Sadio Mane – The Liverpool star is Senegal’s main hope this summer and Mane has the speed and finishing ability to be a hero at the World Cup. With 33 goals in 73 games for Liverpool over the past two seasons, he has delivered the goods and had a fine 2017/18 which went a little unnoticed given Mohamed Salah‘s heroics. The speedster isn’t always the most clinical and that’s been the case for Senegal. With plenty of expectation on his shoulders in his homeland, Mane has scored just 14 goals in 49 games for The Lions of Teranga.
Manager: Aliou Cisse – The captain during Senegal’s only other trip to the World Cup finals, Cisse has brought back that spirit of 2002 to this current squad. A no-nonsense character as a player and coach, Cisse has added steel to this talented Senegal side since he took charge in 2015 following a spell in charge of Senegal’s youth teams. Going forward they have so many attacking options but they’ve improved drastically in defense, conceding just three times in six games during the final round of World Cup qualifying in Africa.
Secret weapon: Ismaila Sarr – Just 20 years old, the Rennes winger scored against Croatia in a recent friendly and he could be a wildcard with his incredible speed. With five goals in 24 Ligue 1 games for Rennes in 2017/18, Sarr’s $22 million move was successful as they finished fifth in the league and qualified for the Europa League group stage. Think of a slightly more languid Mane and that is Sarr.
Prediction: They have the ability to go far and their squad is stacked with players from across the top-flight in England, Germany and France. Senegal may well spring the surprise of the tournament, just like they did in 2002, and another quarterfinal berth could be on the way if they can navigate a tricky group then stun Belgium or England in the last 16. If Mane delivers the goals they are solid enough to grind out results.
