In what is shaping up to be the tightest battle for a 2026 World Cup ticket in CAF qualifying, Senegal welcome fellow contenders Sudan on Friday to Diamniadio Olympic Stadium for round seven.
The two sides are locked on 12 points in Group B, just one adrift of leaders DR Congo, with the Lions of Teranga holding second place on goal difference.
While Senegal remain firmly in the running in what has become a three-horse race for automatic qualification, their journey has been underwhelming, largely due to their inability to find consistency.
Senegal’s campaign began with a ruthless triumph over South Sudan, only for their momentum to be checked by successive draws against Togo and DR Congo.
The Lions of Teranga briefly regained momentum with a slender win over Mauritania, but that did little to alter the perception of a campaign already tainted by a poor AFCON earlier in the year, costing long-serving coach Aliou Cisse his job in October.
Under Pape Thiaw, there has been little change in fortunes, with the side managing a goalless draw against Sudan before beating Mauritania 2-0 in March’s World Cup preliminaries.
Although Sudan have been resilient in their World Cup journey, Senegal’s pedigree and firepower should see them through, especially on home soil where anything less than victory would be a bitter blow for Africa’s top-ranked side.
Credit: sportsmole.co.uk
