The Liverpool forward has the potential of powering the Lions of Teranga into the knockout stage if he catches fire the way he does on a consistent basis for his club. He’s coming off an exceptional club campaign where he formed one of the most dangerous scoring tridents since the days of Messi, Suarez and Neymar at Barcelona. Together with Roberto Firmino and the incredible Mohamed Salah, the three attackers teamed up for 57 goals and 32 assists, with the Senegalese involved in 17 goals (seven assists and 10 goals).
Manager Aliou Cisse will slot the speedster on the left wing, with Diafra Sakho up top and M’Baye Niang on the right. Look for Mane to control the pace and cause chaos to the back lines of Japan, Colombia and Poland. If he can take over and find the net in the opener against Poland — the highest-ranked team in the group, according to FIFA — and set the tempo right off the bat in Russia, don’t be surprised with Senegal makes a surprise run into the knockout stage.