Senegal will be playing at only their third World Cup finals come November/December this year in Qatar.
However, they are amongst the top three best performers to have represented the African continent when they reached the quarterfinals on their debut appearance in 2002 in Korea and Japan.
But it didn’t come easy as they came up against then-defending champions France in the opening match before they locked horns with Uruguay and Denmark in Group A.
The match against France ranks highly amongst the memories Africans still savour as the Teranga Lions made a mockery of Les Blues’ status by beating them 1-0.
The French came into the tournament as favourites with star names in Zinedine Zidane, European top scorers Thierry Henry (England), David Trezeguet (Italy), and Djibril Cisse (France) among others.
For Senegal, it was a team determined to make history after coming close to winning the Africa Cup of Nations in 2000 and 2002 with almost all of whom played their club football in France.
Papa Bouba Diop (Rest in Peace) scored the only goal of the game, before dancing in celebration as the Lions announced themselves on the world stage at the Seoul World Cup stadium, Seoul in South Korea in front of 62,561 fans.
In their second game, the Lions of Teranga held Denmark 1-1 with Salif Diao netting in the 52nd minute to cancel out an early goal from Jon Dahl Tomasson.
The last group game was another spectacle as it ended in a six-goal thriller with the share of spoils.
Senegal took a three-goal lead through Khalilou Fadiga and the late Papa Bouba Diop netting a brace before the 1930 winners rallied late to draw the game level.
Sweden was the next opponent in the round of 16 and it was won by a Henri Camara brace including an extra time winner in the 104th minute – Edward Henrik Larson had scored for Sweden as early as the 11th minute.
The fairy tale ended at the last eight when Ilhan Mansiz scored the ‘golden goal’ just four minutes into extra time to break the hearts of all Africans.
It remains to be seen how they will fare in Qatar but don’t miss any of their games as they are to be broadcast live GOTV.
Buy a GOcoda for 25k, then upgrade to GOtv Supa to enjoy all 64 games live in the comfort of your sitting room.
Wulira Omuliro ne GOtv 🌍🏆
