You’ve got to be a pretty important footballer for the leader of your country to take time out from their busy schedule to tweet well wishes after you get injured. But that was what Macky Sall, president of Senegal, did after French media outlet L’Equipe reported Sadio Mane was likely to miss this World Cup after damaging the fibula bone in his right leg playing for Bayern Munich last week.
Initially, it was reported that Mane would miss the “first games” of the tournament. But on Thursday, the worst fears of Sall and the rest of his country came true when it was confirmed that the 2022 Ballon d’Or runner-up would miss the tournament. It has raised questions about whether the African champions have any chance of making an impact without their main man.
The manager
On the eve of naming his squad for the World Cup, Aliou Cisse signed a two-year contract extension — a reward for guiding Senegal to their first Africa Cup of Nations (AFCON) title this year.
It is rare for a manager to stick around this long in international football (Cisse has been in charge since 2015), never mind specifically in the tempestuous world of African football. On the brink of being sacked more than once, the 46-year-old former Paris Saint-Germain, Birmingham and Portsmouth midfielder has always had the backing of federation head Augustin Senghor.
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The team heading for Qatar is built on a foundation of 2012 London Olympics alumni — even Cisse was an assistant then as Senegal reached the quarter-finals. Mane (he played every game), Idrissa Gueye and Cheikhou Kouyate, who have all made the squad for this World Cup, were in that team.
Over the years, the coach has had a principle of promoting youth-team players into the seniors, creating a formidable identity. It’s why there may be a hope that this team could do well, with or without the stricken Bayern Munich star Mane.
Stylistically, Cisse is not rigid, playing 4-3-3, 4-4-2 or even 3-5-2 if need be. That degree of unpredictability will make Senegal an interesting watch in Group A.
The household name you haven’t heard of yet
Senegal will be without Saliou Ciss, who was named in the team of the tournament at the most recent AFCON but has not played all season after leaving France’s Nancy in the summer at age 33, but they do have his younger brother, Pathe. The Rayo Vallecano midfielder’s presence means this will be the seventh consecutive major tournament in which a member of the Ciss family will feature. His career started at Diambars (the famous academy co-founded by Patrick Vieira, located outside Dakar), where everyone calls him Ismael.
Pathe Ciss took a very long route to the top, which explains his lack of reputation outside of his home country. Now 28, his first taste of top-flight European football came only in 2021 after signing for Madrid-based Rayo, who had just been promoted to La Liga. Before then, he had wandered in the lower rungs of Portuguese and Spanish football.
He has forced his way into this highly competitive team by having a consistent season, becoming key in a Rayo side who go into the World Cup break eighth in La Liga, two points off the Champions League spots.
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“It’s not an exaggeration to say he is our most in-form midfielder,” says Yaya Bodiang, a Dakar-based journalist. “Many people don’t know him, but if he gets to play in Qatar, they will.”
Strengths
The core of this team were only eliminated via yellow cards at the 2018 World Cup, finished second at the 2019 AFCON, forced their way into the top 20 of FIFA rankings, and went unbeaten in AFCON qualifiers. Then, they won the tournament this year and have now qualified again for this World Cup — unbeaten. The roar of the Teranga Lions is no fluke.
They will, therefore, fly to Qatar as one of the few teams unlikely to miss having the usual-pre World Cup warm-up games to get themselves into a rhythm. Years of near-misses mean Cisse’s men are mentally strong, a trait that flows from the coach, who was the captain of the vaunted class of 2002 that finished as quarter-finalists in Japan and South Korea.
Senegal will be the only African team at this World Cup with the majority of their squad featuring at a high level in club football, from goalkeepers to strikers, although now they will have to compete in Qatar without Mane, their talismanic figure. Edouard Mendy is still the undisputed first choice in goal, despite his less consistent Chelsea form this season. Indeed, back home, there’s a feeling that the only thing Mendy has needed is rest, following almost 36 months of non-stop football for club and country.
Weaknesses
Over the years, the one area where there’s been a bit of experimentation is in midfield, partly because Senegal have so many quality players in those positions.
At the start of this year’s AFCON, the changing midfield was a key reason it took the team a while to get going: they won once and drew twice in the group, scoring just once — a 97th-minute penalty from Mane in their opener against Zimbabwe.
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Keen opposition — their first game is against the Netherlands on Monday — could exploit a similar slow start in Qatar.
Local knowledge
To international media, coach Cisse is a mild-mannered, well-spoken gentleman. Back home, he is known for his true nature — a stubborn stickler for rules who does not suffer fools, and possesses a sardonic wit.
In February 2019, he led Senegal to their first AFCON final in 17 years but lost the title to Algeria. The post-match press conference saw a disappointed local journalist ask the manager if he thought it was time to resign.
“You have been on record as saying we couldn’t even get this far, haven’t you?” Cisse retorted, before delivering the punchline: “When you resign, I will follow suit.”
That clip was played ad nauseam on Senegalese TV.
In his playing days, making Cisse captain of the national team — in a squad full of big names such as El Hadji Diouf, Henri Camara and Khalilou Fadiga — was not a surprise to local fans because his temperament made him a natural choice.
Habib Beye, a member of that squad who is now a famous pundit on French TV, explains: “When we walked into important meetings, everyone expected one of the more household names to be introduced as captain. But for us, Aliou’s place was never in doubt, and that’s why you see so many ex-players rally around him to this day.”
Expectations back home
Senegal fans have become used to good football, a culture of winning and resilient defending — conceding just twice in 660 minutes on their way to winning the AFCON last winter. They have become everyone’s favourite African team over the years, not just for the football, but for their aura of discipline and humility.
This has elicited a sense that this team could recreate those heroics of their 2002 predecessors, which could be too much pressure for them to carry.
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“People have a right to feel this way about us,” Cisse said after beating Bolivia and drawing with Iran in their September friendlies. “For me, it is evidence of our work over the years. I cannot say my countrymen should lower their expectations when we have cried together for so long and have now started winning together.”
Read more: See the rest of The Athletic’s World Cup 2022 squad guides
(Main graphic — photo: Getty Images/design: Sam Richardson)