Previous World Cup appearances: 2002, 2018
\nTitles: 0
\nBest finish: Quarter-finals (2002)
\nWorld Cup record: W3 L2 D3
\nWorld Cup goals: 11
\nBiggest win: 1-0 v France (2002)
\nPlayer to watch: Sadio Mane
\nRanking: 18
\nGroup stage fixtures: Netherlands (November 21), Qatar (November 25), Ecuador (November 29)<\/p>\n
Of Africa\u2019s five representatives at the 2022 World Cup, Senegal are the least experienced.<\/p>\n
This World Cup will be the third that the Teranga Lions have qualified for, and their first as reigning African champions.<\/p>\n
In spite of this, the West African nation occupies a relatively unique position. Only three teams from the continent have reached the last-eight at a World Cup, but Senegal reached that milestone in their first-ever appearance.<\/p>\n
In 2002, they stunned reigning world and European champions France and scored in every game but one en route to a quarter-final finish.<\/p>\n
Despite that rousing success, Senegal missed out on the following three editions and 2022 marks their first-ever qualification for consecutive World Cups.<\/p>\n
Disappointment in 2018
\nAliou Cisse, captain of their great adventure in 2002 and in the dugout for seven years now, will lead the Teranga Lions in a bid to put the disappointment of 2018 behind them.<\/p>\n
In Russia, Senegal became the first team ever to be eliminated from the World Cup on the basis of fair play, a cruel blow that defender Kalidou Koulibaly believes they have learned from.<\/p>\n
\u201cWe will not make the same mistake again,\u201d the Chelsea centre-back told Al Jazeera.<\/p>\n
\u201cIn 2018 we could\u2019ve done better, but things didn\u2019t work out, and it\u2019s a shame because we had a great generation of players. In Qatar, we will benefit from that 2018 experience.\u201d<\/p>\n
\u2018Africa\u2019s best hope\u2019
\nThey will also have the boost of coming in as African champions. Senegal took a while to assert themselves during the Africa Cup of Nations in January, making heavy weather of a group that featured Malawi and Zimbabwe.<\/p>\n
However, they came into their own during the knockout rounds, and although they needed a penalty shootout in the final to prove it, the Lions were deserving winners.<\/p>\n
In addition to being Senegal\u2019s first-ever taste of silverware, that achievement lent legitimacy to their current generation, as well as to Cisse\u2019s work. And it cemented their standing as the continent\u2019s best hope of a deep run in Qatar.<\/p>\n
\u201cI think Senegal offer Africa\u2019s best hope,\u201d African football expert Mark Gleeson told Al Jazeera. \u201cI hope that they can get to the quarters, but it depends who they have to play, of course, in the round of 16. I do see them going through, and I think they\u2019ll be the only African side to do so.\u201d<\/p>\n
That expectation is enhanced by the draw.<\/p>\n
The Netherlands will provide a thorny challenge in the opening game, but the rest of Group A is made up of hosts Qatar, in their maiden World Cup appearance, and South America\u2019s last automatic qualifier, Ecuador.<\/p>\n
On the strength of both the FIFA rankings and the relative quality of their squad, Senegal are favourites to advance.<\/p>\n
\u201cIt\u2019s going to be very difficult but it\u2019s an open group,\u201d Koulibaly admitted.<\/p>\n
\u201cQatar (are) playing at home, the Netherlands are a great football nation \u2013 they have big players like Van Dijk, I played a lot against him \u2013 and Ecuador proved that they deserved to be here.\u201d<\/p>\n
Two-time African footballer of the year and Bayern Munich\u2019s Sadio Mane is undoubtedly the Teranga Lions\u2019 biggest star.<\/p>\n
But in Edouard Mendy, Idrissa Gueye, Cheikhou Kouyat\u00e9, Ismaila Sarr, Abdou Diallo and Boulaye Dia they have players who have established themselves in Europe.<\/p>\n
High expectations
\nSince their title-winning effort in Cameroon, Senegal\u2019s results have been underwhelming.<\/p>\n
They came through a two-legged playoff against Egypt, but only on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate score, and they followed that up with a 3-1 win over 10-man Benin and a slim triumph \u2013 via a 98th-minute penalty \u2013 against Rwanda.<\/p>\n
Results in pre-World Cup friendlies have also raised some concern. A routine win over Bolivia was followed by a 1-1 draw with Iran, in which Senegal appeared to lack imagination in attack.<\/p>\n
That feeds into a wider concern. When Mane is shackled, it is often difficult to tell where the chances are coming from.<\/p>\n
In spite of those recent wobbles, Koulibaly remains bullish about Senegal\u2019s prospects in Qatar, and says the team have their eyes set on pushing the envelope at the World Cup.<\/p>\n
\u201cI don\u2019t know about the other African teams but as captain of Senegal we are not going there to reach the normal ceiling of Africa, which is the quarter-finals,\u201d he declared.<\/p>\n
\u201cI believe we can compete for the trophy like the other countries from different continents. We have no business at the World Cup if the plan is just to participate and go home after the group. That is such a defeatist mentality. If you go to battle thinking you are not good enough then you\u2019ve already lost.<\/p>\n
\u201cSenegal is going to Qatar with the ambition to win and that is our mentality.\u201d<\/p>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"
This World Cup will be the third that the Teranga Lions have qualified for, and their first as reigning African champions.<\/p>\n","protected":false},"author":12963,"featured_media":22288,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":{"footnotes":""},"categories":[12,4],"tags":[7,14,39],"class_list":{"0":"post-22291","1":"post","2":"type-post","3":"status-publish","4":"format-standard","5":"has-post-thumbnail","7":"category-entertainment","8":"category-sports","9":"tag-apie-project","10":"tag-entertainment","11":"tag-sports"},"yoast_head":"\n