The Senegalese Football Federation operates the Senegalese national football team (French: Équipe de football du Senegal), nicknamed the Lions of Teranga, which represents Senegal in international association football.
Senegal, one of Africa’s most recognized national football teams, reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, becoming the continent’s second side to do so (after Cameroon in 1990). They stunned the incumbent world champions France, finished second in their group, and defeated Sweden in extra time in the round of 16, before falling to Turkey in the quarter-finals.
Senegal’s first appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations was in 1965, when they finished fourth after losing 1-0 to Ivory Coast. They hosted the 1992 African Cup of Nations, where they reached the quarter-finals, and won their first AFCON in 2021, defeating Egypt in the final.
Senegal declared independence from France on April 4, 1960, and the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) was established the same year. Senegal’s debut match was a 3-2 loss against Dahomey (now Benin) on December 31, 1961. Since 1962, the FSF has been associated with FIFA and a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1963. Senegal made their first participation in the Africa Cup of Nations in 1965, finishing second in their group and fourth overall after losing 1-0 to Ivory Coast. After exiting the AFCON group stage three years later, they would not qualify for the tournament until 1986.
1990s and2000s
Senegal finished fourth in the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations; they hosted the 1992 tournament, when they were ousted in the quarterfinals by Cameroon after coming second in their group. Senegal lost the 2002 final on penalties after a 0-0 tie with Cameroon. [3]
Senegal made their debut in the World Cup later that year. After defeating defending world champions France in their first game, they drew with Denmark and Uruguay to advance from the group stage, then overcame Sweden in extra time in the round of 16, becoming one of just three African teams to accomplish so (alongside Cameroon in 1990 and Ghana in 2010). They were defeated in extra time by Turkey. [4] [5]
Senegal qualified for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, but ended third with two points in their group. They failed to qualify for the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the continent’s first World Cup.
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2010s
Senegal was eliminated from the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations after finishing with no victories and no points.
Following the death of former manager Bruno Metsu on 14 October 2013, numerous Senegalese players were summoned to come and observe a minute of silence in commemoration of the manager who guided them to the World Cup quarter-finals in 2002. In his remembrance, all national league and national team activities were halted for a few days.
The West African country barely lost out on the 2014 FIFA World Cup after losing to Ivory Coast in the last round of qualification. Senegal qualified for two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments before the next World Cup, reaching the quarterfinals in 2017 after being ousted in the group stage in 2015. Senegal qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup,[7] their first since 2002, on November 10, 2017, after defeating South Africa 2-0. [8]
Senegal defeated Poland 2-1 in their first group encounter, owing to an own goal by Thiago Cionek and a goal by M’Baye Niang. [10] Senegal tied 2-2 with Japan in the following group stage match, with goals from Sadio Mané and Moussa Wagué. [11] A 1-0 loss to Colombia in their final match[12] brought them level on points with Japan, who advanced due to a better fair play record. [13] Senegal was thus eliminated from the World Cup group stage for the first time in its history. [14]
Aliou Cissé, a 2002 AFCON participant, led Senegal to a runner-up finish in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. [15] Senegal lost 1-0 to Algeria earlier in the tournament and then again in the final. [16] [17]
2020s
Senegal competed in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, which was postponed until 2022 owing to the epidemic; they overcame Zimbabwe in their first match 1-0 and drew their next two games, enough to finish first in their group. [18] Senegal met Cape Verde in the round of 16. In the opening minute, Mané struck the post with a shot. Patrick Andrade was sent off in the 21st minute after the video assistant referee intervened. Despite their dominance, the first half ended with no shots on goal; Mané opened the scoring a few minutes later, following a corner.
In the quarter-finals, Senegal met Equatorial Guinea. Famara Diédhiou scored for the Lions following a feed from Mané half an hour into the game, and Senegal went on to win 3-1. [19] Senegal defeated Burkina Faso 3-1 in the semi-finals. [20] Senegal met Egypt in the final after defeating hosts Cameroon in the semi-finals. Mané scored the winning penalty in a penalty shootout to give Senegal its first Africa Cup of Nations title. [22] Senegal returned home and took part in a victory parade in Dakar, the capital. It became the largest party in the country’s history. [23]
Senegal met Egypt again following the AFCON final, defeating them on penalties after a 1-1 aggregate tie to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Mané eliminated Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah by converting the game-winning penalty a second time. [24]
