Senegal World Cup 2026 team guide

Senegal arrive in North America in fine shape after dominating their qualification group. Goals are more readily available thanks to a freshened-up frontline, while the defence remains its usual sturdy self. Their World Cup history is complex: despite being African champions heading into Qatar 2022 they could not better the 2002 quarter-final run, and they left Morocco in January as African champions only for the Confederation of African Football to later rule that Senegal “forfeited the final” when some players left the pitch in protest at Morocco being awarded a late penalty.

Coach Pape Thiaw, who calls his team “ambitious outsiders”, has pushed a regeneration, integrating younger players and moving away from some veterans. “I want to see a team that plays without the weight of the past – I have opted for a faster and younger profile,” he said; six squad members have fewer than 10 caps.

Senegal, North America

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