Senegal World Cup 2026 squad: Pape Thiaw's latest selection for March friendlies (original) (raw)

Senegal World Cup 2026 squad: Senegal's forward #10 Sadio Mane (C) celebrates with teammates after scoring a goal during the FIFA World Cup 2026 Africa qualifiers (Photo by Patrick Meinhardt / AFP)

Senegal's legendary Sadio Mane (Image credit: Getty Images)

The Senegal World Cup 2026 squad is coming together ahead of the Africa Cup of Nations.

Senegal went unbeaten in qualification for the 2026 World Cup, meaning they will be playing their third consecutive World Cup – and they even beat England over the summer.

The tournament in Canada, Mexico and the United States likely represents the last for their 'golden generation' with several high-profile stars unlikely to be at the required level in 2030. They won't be 2026 favourites either but they still have one of the most impressive squads at the tournament.

Of those high profile stars at the top sits Sadio Mane, who now plays in Saudi Arabia alongside Cristiano Ronaldo for Al-Nassr, is likely to be faded out following the conclusion of the tournament, by which time he'll be 34.

During his time with the national team they have reached the final of the Africa Cup of Nations twice, winning it once in 2022, the only time the nation has ever won it. Of course ,he didn't do it alone. Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy, both who play in Saudi Arabia will also be approaching the back end of their careers, making this tournament all the more important.

It's not all doom and gloom however, with a crop of exciting talent bursting onto the scene in recent years. Tottenham's Pape Matar Sarr, Everton's Iliman Ndiaye and Bayern Munich's Nicolas Jackson are all under-25 and provide a refreshing touch out youth to the squad.

Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr and West Ham full-back El Hadji Malick Diouf are two more Premier League representatives who may have a big impact on the Senegal national team's chances in America next summer.

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Squad

Senegal World Cup 2026 squad: The March selection

Fixtures

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Manager

Who is Senegal's manager?

Pape Bouna Thiaw, Head Coach of Senegal, before the International Friendly match between Brazil and Senegal at Emirates Stadium on November 15, 2025 in London, England.

(Image credit: Harry Murphy/Getty Images)

Pape Thiaw has an exceptional record as Senegal manager.

He took charge of Senegal in the African Nations Championship in 2022, a competition where only players from their national leagues can compete. They the tournament, beating hosts Algeria in the final.

In 2026, Senegal won the final of the Africa Cup of Nations, at least on the pitch. Thiaw was banned for five games after a controversial and chaotic final in Rabat in January.

Star player

Who is Senegal's star player?

Senegal AFCON 2023 squad: Senegal's midfielder #10 Sadio Mane gestures during the Africa Cup of Nations (CAN) (Photo by Issouf SANOGO / AFP) (Photo by ISSOUF SANOGO/AFP via Getty Images)

Sadio Mane for Senegal (Image credit: Getty Images)

Sadio Mane is a name very familiar to Premier League fans. The 33-year-old is approaching the twilight of his career and the 2026 World Cup is most likely the last dance for him at International level.

Mane is ranked at no.6 FourFourTwo's list of the best African footballers ever, and at no.72 in FourFourTwo's list of the greatest Premier League players of all time. During his time at Liverpool he won the Premier League, Champions League, FA Cup, League Cup, Club World Cup and UEFA Super Cup.

Alongside other veterans Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy, who are both also likely to be looking at the end of their international careers, the World Cup in north America provides the perfect platform to cement their legacy.

Best XI

Maher Mezahi is an African football journalist that has been covering the sport on the continent for over a decade for various media outlets including Al Jazeera English, The Athletic, The Guardian, ESPN FC and more. He has covered five Africa Cup of Nations tournaments and several African Champions League finals. Presently, he is a contributing editor at Africa Is a Country, and also hosts the African Five-a-Side podcast. He has produced and presented football documentaries for Vice Sports, Copa 90, FIFA+ and BBC. Mezahi lives and works in Algiers, Algeria and has been based there since 2016.