2026 World Cup | Who are France’s first opponents, Senegal? | OneFootball

France’s first opponents at the 2026 FIFA World Cup are Senegal. We look at the players that make up Pape Thiaw’s squad.

Édouard Mendy

DOB : 1 March 1992

Club : Al-Ahli

Position : Goalkeeper

No 1 goalkeeper

Mendy’s road to the top is one of resilience. In 2014 he was visiting the unemployment office without a club and ready to leave football all together. A few years later, after spells with Marseille’s reserves, Reims and Rennes, he was a Champions League winner with Chelsea and was named the best goalkeeper in the world by Fifa. Not to mention his role in Senegal’s run to their first title at the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations.  “My journey has taught me: no pain, no gain. Hard work is the only response.” At January’s most recent Afcon, he kept his nerve in the final to save Brahim Díaz’s Panenka penalty to send the final with Morocco to extra time, albeit after a Senegal protest at the awarding of the spot-kick that led the trophy to be awarded to Morocco. The 34-year-old has been in Saudi Arabia for three seasons and remains Pape Thiaw’s first choice.

Mory Diaw

DOB : 22 June 1993

Club : Le Havre

Position : Goalkeeper

After a winding career that has taken in Portugal, Bulgaria and Switzerland, the 32-year-old has established himself as one of the most consistent goalkeepers in Ligue 1, first with Clermont and now Le Havre. His patience has been rewarded with a regular spot in the Senegal squad. He is a modern goalkeeper, quick off his line, and accepts his role with professionalism. He is always ready to step in for Édouard Mendy if called upon. During his youth career at PSG, he was an active user of social media and the club claimed his account had been hacked when he leaked Zlatan Ibrahimovic’s phone number on Twitter. 

Yehvann Diouf

DOB : 16 November 1999

Club : Nice

Position : Goalkeeper

Calm and excellent at claiming crosses, Diouf has been putting Ligue 1 defenders at ease for a number of years. He had to be patient to become first choice at Reims and is now excelling as Nice’s No 1. Born in the Parisian suburbs, the 26-year-old switched his allegiance to Senegal last year after representing France at youth level. Diouf rose to internet fame at the Africa Cup of Nations in January after footage of him protecting Édouard Mendy’s towel from a number of Moroccan ball boys behind the Senegal goal went viral. In the pouring rain in Rabat he and the ball boys were sometimes seen wrestling for the towel on the ground inside the penalty area while the game was going on. “It was completely surreal,” Diouf said.

Kalidou Koulibaly

DOB : 20 June 1991

Club : Al-Hilal

Position : Centre-back

Historic skipper

Senegal’s regular captain is one of the most respected defenders on the planet. Before his spells at Chelsea and now Al-Hilal, he spent eight years at the heart of Napoli’s defence, winning the Coppa Italia and becoming a club icon. He made the choice to represent Senegal, the country of his parents, in 2015 after representing his native France at youth level. After his first World Cup in 2018 the ‘Minister of Defence’ was Senegal’s rock at the back as they won their first African title in 2022, when the captain refused to let go of the trophy for several hours afterwards. Wearing the armband has become a sacred duty for the 34-year-old: “When you wear the shirt, you carry the hopes of 18m people. You don’t have the right to be tired, nor to be afraid.” After injury problems towards the end of the season in Saudi Arabia, he has proved his fitness just in time.

Moussa Niakhaté

DOB : 8 March 1996

Club : Lyon

Position : Centre-back

Niakhaté is the type of player who has had to fight for every step up in his career. Before becoming a regular at Lyon, he had proven himself in some of Europe’s biggest leagues, notably earning the captain’s armband at Mainz and then featuring in the Premier League with Nottingham Forest. The defender didn’t earn his first Senegal cap until the age of 27, when he switched allegiance from France, but is now indispensable owing to his game intelligence. At the delayed Africa Cup of Nations in 2024, he was the only player to miss a penalty as Senegal were knocked out in the last 16 on penalties. But instead of hiding, Niakhaté faced up to the situation with a dignity that won the respect of a country he has grown to love. “Senegal gave me everything even before I started playing for them. I must give it all back.” 

Ismail Jakobs

DOB : 17 August 1999

Club : Galatasaray

Position : Left-back

A product of Cologne’s youth system, Jakobs now plies his trade in Turkey with Galatasaray after a successful spell at Monaco. The former Germany Under-21 international entered the Senegal setup just before the 2022 World Cup and he has been a major plus point under Aliou Cissé and Pape Thiaw. Quick and tireless down the left wing, he has nailed down his place in the back four. Although he was born in Europe, he has embraced his Senegalese identity with a fervour that has quickly won over supporters. After taking a seven-hour drive to visit the village his father is from for the first time, Jakobs was paraded through the streets and waved to locals out of the top of a Jeep. “It was a crazy reception for me. I wasn’t expecting it but it was unbelievable,” he told Uefa. 

Mamadou Sarr

DOB : 29 August 2005

Club : Chelsea

Position : Centre-back

Calm and elegant on the ball, Sarr is the next big thing in the Senegal defence. In choosing to represent Senegal over his native France, the 20-year-old is following in the footsteps of his father, the former Senegal centre-back Pape Sarr who played at the 2002 World Cup. A product of the Lyon academy, Mamadou earned himself a reputation at Strasbourg before joining fellow BlueCo-owned club Chelsea, where he continued to work under his former manager Liam Rosenior. Seen by many as the successor to Kalidou Koulibaly at international level, Sarr deputised for the injury and suspended captain by playing the full 120 minutes of January’s Afcon final against Morocco, just a couple of months after his first senior cap. “Knowing I can play at Afcon makes me think I can play in the Premier League,” the defender said.

Antoine Mendy

DOB : 27 May 2004

Club : Nice

Position : Right-back

Mendy caught the goalscoring bug from a young age, joining Nice’s academy as a striker at the age of 10. As a teenager he struggled to make the grade as an attacking player and was hampered by Osgood-Schlatter disease, a growing pain caused by inflammation in the shinbone. His coaches at Nice decided to move him to play in defence and he has established himself in the first team as an attack-minded right-back. “At first I didn’t really want to play as a full-back and I said so to the coach,” Mendy said after signing his first pro contract aged 18. “I wanted to be close to the opposition’s goal and to score, but the more I played in defence, the more I started to like it … I’ve got role models who have shown me that you can be a full-back and still score goals.” This will be his first World Cup and he’s got every chance of starting under Pape Thiaw.

El Hadji Malick Diouf

DOB : 28 décembre 2004

Club : West Ham

Position : Left-back

A willing runner with bags of energy, it didn’t take long for Diouf to adapt to English football after arriving at West Ham as a relatively unknown figure. The left-back is a product of the Mawade Wade academy and was scouted by Tromsø. The move to the far north of Norway was a bit of a shock: “Malick hadn’t seen snow before,” the Mawade Wade co-founder Malick Diop told the Athletic. “He phoned me and asked: ‘Why is everything white? I can’t see the roads. Coach, do you think I can live here?'” From there Diouf won the Czech top flight at Slavia Prague before sealing a move to the Premier League. The 21-year-old is in pole position to be Senegal’s starting left-back at the World Cup after impressing at last winter’s Africa Cup of Nations – the Lions of Teranga did not concede all tournament while he was on the pitch. 

Abdoulaye Seck

DOB : 4 June 1992

Club : Maccabi Haïfa

Position : Centre-back

Another to benefit from the Senegal to Norway pathway as a young player, Seck started his career in Europe with Hønefoss. His time with Royal Antwerp, where he won the Belgian Cup, brought him to the attention to the Senegal selectors once more – he won two caps as a teenager while playing domestically – and he was part of the squad that won the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations. Having featured in European competitions for Israel’s Maccabi Haifa, Seck is an experienced and trusted back-up option should Pape Thiaw need him this summer. 

Lamine Camara

DOB : 1 January 2004

Club : Monaco

Position : Midfielder

The rise of the 2024 African young player of the year has been startling. In 2023 he won the African Nations Championship, was named best player at the Under-20 Africa Cup of Nations and sealed a move from the Génération Foot academy to Europe. After a remarkable goal from inside his own half at the Stade Louis II in his first season with Metz, Monaco shelled out €15m for his signature. The midfielder has continued to prove himself in one of Europe’s top five leagues and made his Champions League debut in 2024, yet his head remains firmly on his shoulders. “I still feel like the kid who played on those pitches in Diouloulou,” he has said. The 22-year-old has already shone at two Afcons and is the tempo-setter in the Senegal midfield.

Idrissa ‘Gana’ Gueye

DOB : 26 September 1989

Club : Everton

Position : Midfielder

Gueye has been the metronome in Senegal’s midfield for more than a decade. In that time he has earned a reputation as a combative presence in the Premier League across two spells at Everton. The Diambars academy product came away from a three-year spell at Paris Saint-Germain with plenty of winners’ medals, returning to Everton in 2022. He was sent off in a Premier League game against Manchester United at the start of this season after striking his teammate Michael Keane in the face. Still, he remains a reliable player in the Senegal midfield and his 100+ caps and Afcon medals command respect. He arrives at this World Cup at the age of 36, 15 years after his international debut. “I don’t do anything special. I just stick to my routines, follow a balanced diet and always try to get a good night’s sleep,” he told Fifa in 2024.

Pape Matar Sarr

DOB : 14 September 2002

Club : Tottenham

Poste : Midfielder

A champion of Africa at 19, Sarr now plays against some of the best midfielders in the world on a weekly basis. The box-to-box midfielder has seen it all in four years at Tottenham, from Europa League glory – providing the cross for Brennan Johnson’s winner in the final – to a historic relegation battle. The 23-year-old is a threat from distance, with his long-range shooting earning him the nickname of ‘Carlos’ before his first move to Europe with Metz. “It’s a nickname my uncle gave me when I was a young boy just starting out. He said I had a strong drive and great shot in me and that it was like Roberto Carlos,” Sarr told the Athletic in 2023.

Pape Gueye

DOB : 24 January 1999

Club : Villarreal

Position : Midfielder

After having made his name at Marseille and Sevilla, Gueye has become an unmovable object in the centre of Villarreal’s midfield. Senegal have benefitted from his powerful running and good technique since 2022 and he was a central figure at January’s Africa Cup of Nations, scoring the stunning extra-time goal that decided the controversial final against Morocco, who have since been awarded the trophy by forfeit. “All the frustration just came pouring out at once,” he told L’Équipe of his emotional goal celebration that came after he and his teammates left the field in protest at the awarding of a late penalty. This is Gueye’s second World Cup having featured in three of the four matches as Senegal were knocked out by England in the last 16 in 2022.

Habib Diarra

DOB : 3 January 2004

Club : Sunderland

Position : Midfielder

Midfield engine

Courted by some of Europe’s biggest clubs, Diarra has enjoyed a fine debut season in English football with promoted Sunderland. The box-to-box midfielder, as capable of scoring goals as retrieving the ball in his own half, is the motor in the middle of the pitch for Senegal. When he started to train with Strasbourg’s senior team as a teenager, Diarra was unsure whether to use the informal French ‘tu’ to address his teammates. He opted for the formal ‘vous’ and was laughed at and told not to be silly – he was one of them now. By age 20, he was the captain. Diarra, who lived in Alsace from the age of five, chose to represent the Lions of Teranga, who his father played for twice himself.

Bara Sapoko Ndiaye

DOB: 31 December 2007

Club: Bayern Munich

Position: Midfielder

Young wildcard

The inclusion of the 18-year-old midfielder has raised plenty of eyebrows. It represents a meteoric rise for the teenager, who joined Bayern Munich on loan from the Gambian academy Gambinos Stars last January. After being handed his Bundesliga debut by Vincent Kompany in April, Ndiaye has impressed considerably thanks to his tough tackling, vision going forward and tactical maturity. Now a Bundesliga winner, his performances have drawn calls to make his loan move permanent. Despite shooting to stardom in such a short space of time, Ndiaye remains a composed figure. “Everyone is going very quickly, but on the field it’s not about age, just football,” he has said. He will be Pape Thiaw’s secret weapon.

Pathé Ciss

DOB : 16 March 1994

Club : Rayo Vallecano

Position : Defensive midfielder

Ciss learned his trade in Europe’s lower tiers before making the grade in La Liga with Rayo Vallecano. After spells in Portugal’s second division, the midfielder arrived in Spain’s second tier with Fuenlabrada. He is respected at Rayo for his physical attributes and reading of the game, and is a reliable figure in tough moments. Called up for the first time by Senegal just before the last World Cup, Ciss started the tournament in Qatar on the bench. By the time Aliou Cissé’s side faced England in the last 16, he was a starter. If Pape Thiaw has any injury problems in defence this summer, Ciss is being tipped as a possible stand-in centre-back.

Sadio Mané

DOB : 10 April 1992

Club : Al-Nassr

Position : Winger

National hero

Mané is one of the most decorated African players in history. But before winning the Champions League and Premier League with Liverpool, or the Bundesliga with Bayern Munich, he had to batter down some doors. He comes from Bambali, a village from where becoming a pro footballer seemed impossible, and left for an opportunity in Dakar wearing a wrecked pair of football boots – the source of mockery from one coach in his first sessions. Mané’s response became famous: “I am here with the best that I have.” Now a two-time African player of the year and the driving force behind Senegal’s first Afcon triumph in 2022, the forward has spent millions building hospitals and schools back home. “I don’t need 10 Ferraris; I want my people to receive a bit of what life has given me,” he has said. A level-headed captain amid the chaos at Afcon earlier this year, the 34-year-old persuaded his teammates to return to the pitch in the final against Morocco.

Ismaïla Sarr

DOB : 25 February 1998

Club : Crystal Palace

Position : Winger

The former Rennes and Watford winger has been terrorising defences in Europe’s top leagues for a number of years. Now an FA Cup winner with Crystal Palace, scoring twice in last year’s semi-final against Aston Villa, the 28-year-old is at the peak of his powers. Originally from Saint-Louis, Sarr is another to have come through the Génération Foot academy in Dakar, where an education is a vital provision but football is still king. “It is a good environment where you are surrounded by competent coaches and very nice people. You wake up in the morning and all you have to do is play football,” he told Sky Sports in 2022. This is his third World Cup having started all seven games in the two previous tournaments.

Nicolas Jackson

DOB : 20 June 2001

Club : Chelsea

Position : Striker, winger

Jackson went to the last World Cup without a single cap for Senegal – a purple patch in front of goal for Unai Emery’s Villarreal later in the season earned him his big move to Chelsea. The Gambia-born striker took his first steps in football at Casa Sport Zinguinchor in Senegal and now he is a Bundesliga winner while on loan at Bayern Munich. He is the modern striker, with disruptive runs in behind his main strength, but can also play on the left wing. In and out of the team at the Africa Cup of Nations last January, the 24-year-old is considered the future of Senegal’s frontline. Can he be the present in North America?

Ibrahim Mbaye

DOB : 24 January 2008

Club : PSG

Position : Winger

Next big thing

At just 18, Mbaye is the latest starlet everyone in Senegal has their eye on. The youngest player in PSG’s history is the symbol of a new generation of French-born players who are choosing to represent Senegal. The skillful forward represented France at various youth levels but switched allegiance to the country of his father last year, when he also became Senegal’s youngest goalscorer. He played an important role – usually from the bench – at Afcon last January, scoring in the last 16 against Sudan. “I will never regret choosing to play for Senegal because it was a decision from the heart,” he said. Used sparingly by Luis Enrique this season but scored in PSG’s win over Lens that secured the Ligue 1 title.

Krépin Diatta

DOB : 25 February 1999

Club : Monaco

Position : Winger

Diatta’s route to European football took him first to Norway. He was one of the first beneficiaries of a partnership between his club in Dakar, Oslo Football Académie, and the Norwegian side Sarpsborg. A day after his 17th birthday the winger signed a four-year contract with the Eliteserien team and caught the eye of Club Brugge, where he won two Belgian league titles and made his Champions League debut. At Monaco since 2021, Diatta has had to fight his way through a number of injury problems and was taken to hospital after feeling ill with a headache during the warm-up for January’s Africa Cup of Nations final. “I underwent several tests but nothing was found. I even had more episodes during the night. To this day, I still don’t know what happened to me,” he told l’Observateur. 

Cherif Ndiaye

DOB : 23 January 1996

Club : Samsunspor

Position : Striker

Journeyman

This is a first World Cup for the globe-trotting 30-year-old striker. His career has taken him from Dakar to Turkey via Belgium, Croatia, China and Serbia. During a prolific spell at Red Star Belgrade, he became the first player since 1968 to score a hat-trick against Partizan in the fierce Eternal derby. “The matches against Partizan are special,” he said in an interview with FootSenegal. “The energy that you get from the stands, the historic importance of the game – it gave me extra strength.” Experiences like these mean Pape Thiaw can trust Ndiaye to keep his head in the pressure moments that come with tournament football. He will have to wait for his chance from the bench.

Bamba Dieng

DOB : 23 March 2000

Club : Lorient

Position : Striker

The Marseille academy product, now at Lorient, is a player who relies on instinct. Potent from range, the striker was one of the revelations of the 2022 Africa Cup of Nations, scoring in the last 16 and a penalty in the final shootout victory against Egypt. Despite dry patches with his clubs, he has always found his best form with the national team. Pape Thiaw will likely utilise him off the bench this summer but he can change the game in one turn of pace. He comes into the tournament averaging around a goal every other game for Lorient in France this season. He is out of contract in the summer and is said to be attracting interest from Germany and Spain.

Iliman Ndiaye

DOB: 6 March 2000

Club: Everton

Position: Winger

Having been a bit-part player for Senegal in 2022, Ndiaye arrives at his second World Cup having found his feet in the Premier League at Everton. The former Sheffield United and Marseille winger, who was at Boreham Wood’s academy as a youngster, is a popular figure among Senegal fans for his eye-catching runs with the ball. He was central to the run to the Afcon final at the start of the year. As a child, Ndiaye used to practice his freestyle skills on the beaches of Dakar before honing his technical ability in England’s lower leagues. “My football comes from the street. I learnt never to doubt myself there,” he has said. Ndiaye’s creativity and understanding with Sadio Mané have given Pape Thiaw’s side an extra edge, especially in big games.

Assane Diao

DOB : 7 September 2005

Club : Como

Position : Winger

After bursting on to the scene in La Liga with Real Betis, Diao chose to pursue his career in Serie A with Como. He is a powerful winger with a rasping shot and brings freshness to the squad. Born in Senegal, Diao moved to Spain at the age of three and represented them at various youth levels but his decision to play for the Lions of Teranga confirms the attractiveness the younger generation are seeing in playing for the country of their roots. After a hugely impactful first few months under Cesc Fàbregas the 20-year-old is still finding consistency in one of Europe’s top leagues.

This is a piece from Omar Kane for Taggat as part of the Guardian Sports Network

GFFN | Luke Entwistle