After beating Egypt in the African Nations Cup to win the trophy for the first time in their history, they beat Egypt to qualify for the World Cup. It’s the first time they are qualifying for consecutive World Cup matches. This will be only their third appearance at the World Cup; they were knocked out of the group stage in 2018 on fair play.

As African Champions, fans expect Senegal to give a good account for themselves; they’ll be under more pressure to make it out of a group with Qatar, Ecuador and The Netherlands. Senegal boasts some quality players, with Eduoard Mendy and Ismaila Sarr representing the African Champions.

Senegal are likely to line up in their preferred 4-3-3 formation that extracts the best out of the squad.

In goal, Chelsea shot-stopper Edouard Mendy will be a sure banker to start. The African goalkeeper of the year has been ever present in defence for the African giant. His penalty heroics won Senegal the Afcon, and he ensured they also made it to the World Cup stage.

The absence of Bouna Sarr is a big blow at the right back. The Bayern Munich player was critical to their success at the AFCON but will be replaced by Youssouf Sabaly. The Real Betis man has made 24 caps for his country and will be looking to make much more at the World Cup.