World Cup 2018: Senegal - "the Lions of Teranga"

16 years ago, the Senegal team surprised the world when they defeated the defending champions France 1-0 in the opening match of the 2002 World Cup. The only goal was scored by striker Papa Bouba Diop and he was the one who introduced the world to his country Senegal.

At that time, Diop and his teammates also introduced to the world the mesmerizing dance of the “Teranga Lions” at the Seoul World Cup in Korea. Until now, the memory of the Senegal team at the 2002 World Cup has been a part of the history of the World Cup, when they became the team that created the most classic shock of all time in world football.

“Teranga Lion”

Striker Sadio Mane, Senegal's brightest star. Photo: Internet

The “Teranga Lions” coming to Russia for the 2018 World Cup did not have much difficulty because the squad combined many players who played for hire in Europe with domestic clubs. These include Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Balde Keita (Monaco), goalkeeper: Khadim Ndiaye (Horoya AC)..

After comfortably overcoming Madagascar 5-2 on aggregate in the second qualifying round, Senegal were drawn in a group that included Burkina Faso, South Africa and Cape Verde. They qualified for the World Cup on the back of an unbeaten record of four wins and two draws – all against their closest rivals Burkina Faso, who finished second by five points.

However, the most notable thing about their qualifying campaign was a 1–2 loss to South Africa that was replayed due to a refereeing scandal (Senegal won 2–0).

In the Senegal squad, the most expected is still striker Sadio Mane, this player has been very famous in the past few years, playing for Liverpool.The striker is being compared to El Hadji Diouf, the team's lucky charm at the 2002 World Cup, a tournament they made their debut in but also reached the quarter-finals.

Recent injuries have seen him overshadowed by Salah at Liverpool this season, but Senegal still need him to lead the attack against Poland, Japan and Colombia. While Senegalese players used to play mainly for French clubs because French is the main language in this Muslim country, they now play for hire all over Europe.

In this team's lineup, there are players who play for Anderlecht, Napoli, Nottingham Forest, Hannover 96, Stoke, Everton... The biggest advantage of Senegal players is their physical strength and speed, they can handle the ball at high speed continuously for 90 minutes of play, not afraid of collision.

Poor family still play football well

Senegal team at World Cup 2018. Photo: Internet

While the US and China - the two largest economies in the world - are not present in Russia, the West African country with an area of ​​about 197,000 square kilometers and a population of about 13 million people has this honor.

Being in the same group with Japan with 5.167 billion USD (3rd in the world) is the richest country participating in this World Cup, but Sadio Mane still believes: "Our chance of getting into the next round is not inferior to any team". According to the latest FIFA rankings, Senegal is ranked 17th (85 places higher than Vietnam) and Japan is ranked 61st.

In terms of GDP, Vietnam is ranked above 12 countries participating in this World Cup, with a GDP of 240.8 billion USD and ranked 49th in the world. The 10 richest countries in the 2018 World Cup are: Japan 5,167 billion USD (3rd in the world), Germany 4,211 billion USD (4th), the United Kingdom 2,936 (5th), France 2,925 billion USD (6th), Brazil 2,138 billion USD (9th), Russia 1,719 billion USD (11th), South Korea 1,693 billion USD (12th), Spain 1,506 billion USD (13th), Australia 1,500 billion USD (14th), Mexico 1,212 billion USD (15th).

The story of the indomitable "Teranga Lions" is worth our contemplation and learning from!