Senegal arrive at the 2026 World Cup for the fourth time, and their story begins with one of the sport's great upsets. On their debut in 2002, in their very first match, they beat the reigning world champions France one nil through a Papa Bouba Diop goal, then advanced all the way to the quarterfinals before losing to Turkey one nil in extra time. It remains the best finish by a Senegalese side. In 2018 they became the first team ever eliminated on the fair play rule, and in 2022 they reached the round of 16 without the injured Sadio Mané, where England ended their campaign.

Senegal secured their place at 2026 on 10/14/25, with a commanding four nil home victory over Mauritania at the Diamniadio Olympic Stadium in Dakar. Mané, fit again, scored twice, with Iliman Ndiaye and Habib Diallo also on the scoresheet. The win confirmed them as winners of CAF Group B, where they went through the entire ten game qualifying campaign unbeaten: seven wins, three draws, no losses, 24 points, finishing two clear of DR Congo. It is their third consecutive World Cup, a mark of real continental consistency for a side that once had to wait generations for their first appearance.