FIFA World Cup 2018: Senegal

Squad

On paper Senegal has a strong squad, filled with players playing in top leagues such as the Bundesliga, Premier League and Serie A. Pace is the name of the game in attack with Keita Balde, Sadio Mane, Sarr and Niang all offering a counter-attacking threat from their pace and dribbling ability. All have had decent seasons and will be looking to make a mark on the tournament.

The midfield are oddly all based in the UK, with Gueye and Kouyate offering a formidable presence in the middle of the pitch that holds the team together.

The defence is definitely the weak-link in the Senegal team, with only Napoli’s Koulibaly the only fantastic defender. Interestingly he was sometimes partnered with 19-year-old Eupen defender Moussa Wague during qualifying, and it will be a bold call to start someone so young and relatively inexperienced in footballs biggest tournament.

Goalkeepers: Abdoulaye Diallo (Rennes), Khadim N’Diaye (Horoya), Alfred Gomis (SPAL)

Defenders: Kara Mbodji (Anderlecht), Kalidou Koulibaly (Napoli), Saliou Ciss (Valenciennes), Salif Sane (Hannover), Youssouf Sabaly (Bordeaux), Lamine Gassama (Alanyaspor), Moussa Wague (Eupen)

Midfielders: Idrissa Gueye (Everton), Cheikhou Kouyate (West Ham), Cheikh N’Doye (Birmingham), Alfred N’Diaye (Wolves), Badou Ndiaye (Stoke)

Attackers: Moussa Sow (Bursaspor), Mame Biram Diouf (Stoke), Sadio Mane (Liverpool), Moussa Konate (Amiens), Diafra Sakho (Rennes), Ismaila Sarr (Rennes), M’Baye Niang (Torino), Keita Balde (Monaco)

Tactics

It’s hard to say how Senegal will line up in the World Cup, mixing up their formations regularly  carrying that on in their most recent friendlies lining up in a 3-4-3, 4-3-3 and a 4-4-2 (drawing all 3). Personally, I feel a 4-3-3 formation will bring the most out of a very well balanced squad.

I watched Senegal’s 2-0 victory over South Africa back in November as I feel that resembles the squad and formation that I think Senegal will likely bring. Senegal won 2-0 in a match that was far from a classic. It was an incredibly scrappy game, with both teams using the ball very poorly, never really attempting to build through the midfield instead often going long for the strikers to chase, which made it hard to see how Senegal will approach things against a higher class of opposition. Admittedly Senegal had a few notable omissions in their team but I feel if they play like this in the World Cup they’ll be heading for a very early exit, obviously though my view is based on one game and they got through qualifying unbeaten  so there is obviously a good team there!

Despite my negative first impressions, there were a few good moments. Mane looked electric and played a fantastic pass for Sakho to convert, whilst Niang had a few moments where he managed to get himself out of impossibly tight situations with his dribbling ability.

Streng

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