The Senegal national football team, nicknamed the Lions of Teranga, is the national association football team of Senegal and is controlled by the Fédération Sénégalaise de Football.
The team have been regular competitors in the Africa Cup of Nations, where their best performance was runner-up to Cameroon in the 2002 edition in Mali. In the same year, Senegal took part at the FIFA World Cup for the first time and reached the quarter-finals, having defeated reigning champions France in the opening game.
Senegal gained its independence from France on 4 April 1960, and the Senegalese Football Federation (FSF) was founded that year. The first Senegal match took place on 31 December 1961 against Dahomey (current Benin). Senegal lost 3–2.
The Fédération Sénégalaise de Football (FSF) has been affiliated with FIFA since 1962 and has been a member of the Confederation of African Football since 1963.
Senegal’s first appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations was in 1965, where they finished second in their group, and lost 1–0 to Ivory Coast to finish in fourth place.
In the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal finished fourth. Senegal hosted the 1992 tournament. After finishing second in their group, they were eliminated by Cameroon in the quarterfinals. Senegal qualified for four of six African championships that decade.
Senegal’s best finish in the African Cup of Nations came in 2002, where they lost the final on a penalty shootout after drawing 0–0 with Cameroon. Later that year, Senegal made their first-ever world championship appearance at the World Cup. Senegal eventually reached the quarter-finals of the World Cup, one of only three African teams to do so (the first being Cameroon in 1990; the other being Ghana in 2010). In the group, after defeating defending world champions France, they drew with Denmark and Uruguay, and beat Sweden in extra time in the round of 16, before losing to Turkey in the quarter-finals
Senegal qualified for the 2008 Africa Cup of Nations, but finished third in their group with two points. They failed to make the 2010 FIFA World Cup in South Africa, the first World Cup to be held in Africa.
enegal was eliminated in the 2012 African Cup of Nations with zero wins and zero points.
After Senegal’s former manager Bruno Metsu died on 14 October 2013, many Senegalese players were recalled to appear and have a moment of silence in memory of the manager who helped them reach the quarter-final in the 2002 World Cup. All activities of the national league and the national team were suspended for a few days in his memory.
The West African nation narrowly missed the 2014 FIFA World Cup after losing in a round-robin match against Côte d’Ivoire in the final qualification round. Senegal qualified for two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments since, being eliminated in the group stage in 2015 and reaching the quarterfinals in 2017.
On 10 November 2017, after defeating South Africa 0–2, Senegal qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, the second in its history after the 2002 World Cup in Japan and South Korea.
Senegal defeated Poland 2-1 in their opening group match. The first goal was an own goal by Thiago Cionek, and the second one was scored by M’Baye Niang. Senegal ended in a draw against Japanwith one goal by Sadio Mané and the other by Moussa Wagué.