The Senegal national football team (French: ÃÂquipe de football du Senegal), nicknamed Les Lions de la Teranga (French: The Lions of Teranga), represents Senegal in men's international association football and is operated by the Senegalese Football Federation.
One of Africa's most famous national football teams, Senegal reached the quarter-finals of the 2002 FIFA World Cup, the second team from Africa to do so (after Cameroon in 1990). They managed to upset defending world champions France, finish second in their group, and beat Sweden in extra time in the round of 16, before losing to Turkey in the quarter-finals.
Senegal has won one Africa Cup of Nations title, in 2021. Their first appearance in the competition was in 1965, when they lost 1âÂÂ0 to Ivory Coast for fourth place. They hosted the 1992 African Cup of Nations, where they made it to the quarter-finals, and finished as runners-up in 2002, 2019, and 2025.
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 (now Benin), a 3âÂÂ2 loss. The FSF has been affiliated with FIFA since 1962 and has been a member of the Confederation of African Football (CAF) since 1963. Senegal's first appearance in the Africa Cup of Nations was in 1965, where they finished second in their group, and lost 1âÂÂ0 to Ivory Coast to finish in fourth place. After a group stage exit at the AFCON three years later, they would not qualify for the tournament until 1986.
In the 1990 Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal finished fourth; they hosted the 1992 tournament, where after finishing second in their group, they were eliminated by Cameroon in the quarterfinals. Senegal lost the 2002 final on a penalty shoot-out after drawing 0âÂÂ0 with Cameroon. Later that year, Senegal made their debut appearance at the World Cup. After defeating defending world champions France in their opening game, they drew with Denmark and Uruguay to progress from the group stage, then beat Sweden in extra time in the round of 16 to reach the quarter-finals, one of only four African teams to do so (alongside Cameroon in 1990, Ghana in 2010 and Morocco in 2022). There, they lost to Turkey in extra time.
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.
Senegal was eliminated from the 2012 Africa Cup of Nations with zero wins and zero points.
After 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 Ivory Coast in the final qualification round. Senegal qualified for two Africa Cup of Nations tournaments before the next World Cup, being eliminated in the group stage in 2015 and reaching the quarterfinals in 2017. On 10 November 2017, after defeating South Africa 2âÂÂ0, Senegal qualified for the 2018 FIFA World Cup, their first since 2002. Senegal defeated Poland 2âÂÂ1 in their opening group match, thanks to an own goal by Thiago Cionek and a M'Baye Niang strike. In the next group stage match, Senegal drew 2âÂÂ2 against Japan, with goals from Sadio Mané and Moussa Wagué. A 1âÂÂ0 loss to Colombia in their final match meant they finished level on points with Japan, who progressed thanks to a superior fair play record. Thus, Senegal was eliminated in the group stage for the first time in its World Cup history.
Aliou Cissé, who participated in the 2002 AFCON, managed Senegal to a runner-up campaign in the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations. Having lost 1âÂÂ0 to Algeria earlier in the tournament, Senegal lost 1âÂÂ0 to them again in the final.
Deprived of many players due to COVID-19, Senegal participated in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations, postponed to 2022 because of the pandemic; they beat Zimbabwe in their first match 1âÂÂ0 and drew their next two games, enough to finish first in their group. In the round of 16, Senegal faced Cape Verde. Mané recorded a shot that hit the post in the first minute. Patrick Andrade was sent off in the 21st minute, after intervention of the video assistant referee. Despite their dominance, the first half ended without a single shot on target; Mané opened the scoring a few minutes into the second half, following a corner.
Senegal faced Equatorial Guinea in the quarter-finals. The Lions opened the scoring half an hour into the game, by Famara Diédhiou on a pass from Mané; Senegal eventually won 3âÂÂ1. In the semi-finals, Senegal faced Burkina Faso, winning 3âÂÂ1 again. In the final, Senegal faced Egypt, who eliminated hosts Cameroon in the semi-finals. In a penalty shoot-out, Mané scored the winning penalty, to bring Senegal its first Africa Cup of Nations title. Senegal returned home and took part in a victory parade that took place in the capital, Dakar. During the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations final, Egyptian goalkeeper Mohamed Abou Gabal, known as Gabaski, used a water bottle with notes indicating the preferred penalty shot directions of Senegalese players. It ended up becoming the biggest party in the country's history.
Senegal faced Egypt twice after the AFCON final, eliminating the Egyptians on penalties after being tied 1âÂÂ1 on aggregate, to qualify for the 2022 FIFA World Cup. Mané eliminated his Liverpool teammate Mohamed Salah after scoring the winning penalty again. The penalty shoot-out was however full of controversies with lasers being pointed at Egypt's penalty takers and goalkeeper. FIFA fined Senegal's football federation 175,000 Swiss francs as a result of the fan disorder.
For the 2022 World Cup in Qatar, Senegal were drawn in Group A along with the hosts Qatar, Ecuador and the Netherlands. Star man Mané missed out due to injury, but Senegal managed to progress from the group nonetheless. Though they lost their first game against the Netherlands 2âÂÂ0, Senegal went on to claim six points against the hosts and then Ecuador in their final game, progressing to the Round of 16, where they lost 3âÂÂ0 to England. It marked the second time Senegal had progressed past the group stage, in only their third appearance.
On 10 June 2025, Senegal won 3âÂÂ1 against England, becoming the first African country to defeat England in a football match at senior level.
On 18 January 2026, Senegal won their second African Cup of Nations after beating host nation Morocco 1âÂÂ0 after extra time in the final. However, the match was marred by a walkout by Senegal's players in protest at the awarding of a stoppage-time penalty to Morocco. This led to the Confederation of African Football overturning the result on 17 March 2026, calling the walkout a forfeiture of the match by Senegal, and awarding the trophy to Morocco instead. The Senegalese Football Federation said it will appeal against this ruling.
Puma has been the manufacturer of Senegal's kits since 2005 (except 2017, when Romai was the manufacturer). The home kit is typically white, and the away kit is green.
The following is a list of match results in the last 12 months, as well as any future matches that have been scheduled.
The following players were called up for the friendly matches against Peru and Gambia on 28 and 31 March 2026; respectively. <br>Caps and goals updated as of 28 March 2026, after the match against Peru.
The following players have also been called up for Senegal in the last twelve months.
<sup>DEC</sup> Player refused to join the team after the call-up.<br/> <sup>INJ</sup> Player withdrew from the squad due to an injury.<br/> <sup>PRE</sup> Preliminary squad.<br/> <sup>RET</sup> Player has retired from international football.<br/> <sup>SUS</sup> Suspended from the national team.<br/>
Senegal have appeared in the finals of the FIFA World Cup on three occasions, in 2002 where they reached the quarter-finals, in 2018, and in 2022.
Historically, Senegal was seen as a weaker side in the strong West African region. Although they finished in fourth place in two AFCON editions, Senegalese performance was overall still deemed as poor. Senegal remained under the shadow of West African giants Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana for the majority of the 20th century.
In the 2000s, Senegal began to surge and became a more competitive opponent in the Africa Cup of Nations. Following a successful FIFA World Cup debut in 2002, in which the side reached the quarter-finals, Senegal established itself as a new powerhouse in Africa. The 2002 Africa Cup of Nations tournament marked a defeat to Cameroon 2âÂÂ3 on penalties after a goalless draw in the final. Senegal once again finished as runners-up in 2019, losing the final 0âÂÂ1 to Algeria, and finally won their first AFCON title in 2021.
The list shown below shows the Senegal national football team allâÂÂtime international record against opposing nations.
As of 31 March 2026 after match against Gambia.