Senegal squad, injuries and suspensions

It is the third time in the history, when the Senegal national team will participate in the final round of the World Cup. They showed their best result in 2002: in the quarterfinals, the Senegalese lost to the Turkish national team only in extra time. In 2018, the Senegal national team was close to qualifying from the group. After the third match, Les Lions de la Teranga shared the 2nd-3rd places with the Japanese national team. Believe it or not, all key statistical indicators of both teams were identical. So it was necessary to count yellow cards, and the Asian team that was less rude advanced to the playoffs.

Path of Senegal to the 2022 World Cup

The Senegal national team got the right to go to Qatar, outperforming Egypt in the playoffs of the African qualifying tournament. The teams exchanged home wins with minimum scores, and a penalty shootout decided everything.

Managed by Aliou Cissé, the team prefers to play the second number, although they have a good few of high-profile players: goalkeeper Édouard Mendy (Chelsea), defender and team captain Kalidou Koulibaly (Chelsea), midfielder Idrissa Gueye (Everton). Meanwhile, Sadio Mané, the main star player of the team, will miss the World Cup due to injury (at least, the group stage). The absence of the attack leader is a significant challenge for the head coach. The team’s attacking potential has fallen by 2 or even 3 times, which immediately caused bookmakers’ reaction.

Can Senegal repeat success of 2002?

Before Mané’s injury, it could be said that the Senegal national team was very likely to qualify from group A along with the Netherlands. Currently, there is no such certainty. It is always not an easy task to play against the host of the tournament; on top of that, there is tenacious Ecuador, which can also be a surprise. There is no easy path for Les Lions de la Teranga, since in 2 out of 3 matches, they will have to play in attack and without their goal scoring striker. And the African team is not so good at that.

If Senegal reaches the playoffs, then the potential rivals from group B (England and the USA) do not look that scary. There is a chance that Sadio Mané can recover for the playoffs. Why not repeat their best result in history? According to bookmakers, this team has the best title chances among African teams.