Senegal

Sadio Mané (34) is Senegal's all-time top scorer with 55 international goals — more than any other Senegalese player in history; after a fibula injury cruelly ruled him out of Qatar 2022 just days before kickoff, USA 2026 is his shot at redemption on the World Cup stage.

The Lions of Teranga beat Morocco 1-0 in the 2025 AFCON final on the night, but were stripped of the title after coach Pape Thiaw ordered his players off the pitch to protest a stoppage-time penalty — one of the most chaotic finals in AFCON history.

Bara Sapoko Ndiaye (18) is among the tournament's youngest players: he made his Bundesliga debut for Bayern Munich on 11 April 2026 — just 66 days before Senegal's opening Group I game against France.

Ibrahim Mbaye (18), PSG's teenage sensation, became Senegal's youngest-ever international goalscorer in November 2025 when he netted against Kenya aged 17 years and 9 months.

Senegal's entire 26-man squad plays abroad — predominantly in Europe's top five leagues — making them one of the most broadly diaspora-based squads at the tournament.

In their first-ever World Cup match, debutants Senegal beat reigning champions France 1-0 in the 2002 opening game through Papa Bouba Diop — toppling their former colonial rulers with a squad almost entirely employed by French clubs.

Senegal's first major trophy arrived at the 2021 AFCON: Sadio Mané missed a penalty in the seventh minute of the final against Egypt, then buried the decisive spot-kick in the shootout to beat his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah.