33·Legends

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Senegal

The thirty-three greatest. Build your eleven, then settle the duels.

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The 33 of Senegal

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1 SM 91 Sadio Mané 130 caps · 55 goals · Southampton, LiverpoolSouthampton were still goalless against Aston Villa on 16 May 2015 when Mané scored three times in two minutes and fifty-six seconds, and nobody has beaten that Premier League record since. His penalty settled the shootout that made Senegal African champions for the first time in Yaoundé in 2022; before that came the 2019 Champions League with Liverpool and the 2019-20 Premier League, plus African Footballer of the Year in 2019 and 2022. CAM2015–22

89 Kalidou Koulibaly 103 caps · K.R.C. Genk, SSC NapoliTwo minutes after Moisés Caicedo levelled for Ecuador on 29 November 2022, Koulibaly answered with a volley that carried Senegal into a World Cup last sixteen for the first time since 2002. He was the captain who lifted Senegal's first Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, won the Coppa Italia with Napoli in 2020 and the Saudi Pro League with Al-Hilal in 2024, and made the Serie A Team of the Year four seasons running. CB2002–24

3 EH 88 El Hadji Diouf 70 caps · 24 goals · R.C. Lens, LiverpoolOn 31 May 2002 in Seoul he burst down the left and drove in the low cross that Papa Bouba Diop forced over the line, and Senegal beat holders France 1-0 on their World Cup debut. Back-to-back African Footballer of the Year awards in 2001 and 2002 sat alongside a place in the 2002 World Cup All-Star team, a run to the quarter-finals, the Africa Cup of Nations final that February, and the League Cup with Liverpool in 2003. CAM2001–03

86 Édouard Mendy 57 caps · Stade de Reims, ChelseaHe was twenty-two in 2014, out of the game after leaving Cherbourg, drawing unemployment benefit in France and looking for work outside football. By 2022 he was an African champion and a European one, with Senegal's Africa Cup of Nations and Chelsea's 2021 Champions League as the first African goalkeeper to lift it, and he added the AFC Champions League Elite with Al-Ahli in 2025 and FIFA's goalkeeper of the year for 2021. GK2014–25

85 Idrissa Gana Gueye 122 caps · Lille OSC, EvertonNeymar's scuffed shot dropped to him inside eight minutes at the Parc des Princes on 28 September 2021, and he thumped it into the top corner to open a 2-0 win over Manchester City. He won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal in 2022, two Ligue 1 titles and two Coupes de France with Paris Saint-Germain, reached the 2020 Champions League final, and in March 2023 became the first Senegalese to reach a hundred caps. CDM2020–23

6 JB 85 Jules Bocandé 73 caps · 20 goals · R.F.C. Tournai, FC MetzSenegal had lost the first leg 1-0 in Zimbabwe when Bocandé scored all three at the Stade Demba Diop on 1 September 1985 and took the country to its first Africa Cup of Nations in eighteen years. That same season he finished top scorer in France's first division with 23 goals for Metz, moved to Paris Saint-Germain, and closed a Senegal career of 20 goals in 73 caps that CAF honoured as an African football legend in 2009. CAM1985–2009

7 KF 84 Khalilou Fadiga 37 caps · 4 goals · Lommel SK, Club Brugge K.V.Inter's doctors found the heart defect in 2003, and a year later he collapsed at the Reebok before a Carling Cup tie with Tottenham, took an implanted defibrillator and played again by 2005. Runner-up at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations and a World Cup quarter-finalist that summer, he won the Belgian double with Club Brugge in 1998, the 2003 Coupe de France with Auxerre, and a place in the 2000 AFCON Team of the Tournament. CM1998–2005

84 Mamadou Niang 59 caps · 19 goals · ES Troyes AC, RC Strasbourg AlsaceMarseille had waited eighteen years for a league title when their captain finished 2009-10 as Ligue 1's leading scorer on 18 goals, part of the 71 he scored in 155 league games for the club. That season brought the championship and the Coupe de la Ligue, adding to the 2005 League Cup with Strasbourg; he later won the 2011 AFC Champions League with Al Sadd and scored 20 goals in 59 games for Senegal. SS2005–11

84 Pape Bouba Diop 63 caps · Neuchâtel Xamax FCS, FulhamThirty minutes into the 2002 World Cup opener in Seoul, he forced the loose ball past France after Diouf's low cross, then laid his number 19 shirt by the corner flag and danced around it. Three goals made him Senegal's top scorer at a World Cup that ended in the quarter-finals, and he was an Africa Cup of Nations runner-up months earlier; he later came off the bench in Portsmouth's 2008 FA Cup final win. CDM2002–08

10 AC 83 Aliou Cissé 33 caps · Paris Saint-Germain, Birmingham CityBamako, 10 February 2002: he walked up for Senegal's fifth penalty in the Africa Cup of Nations final, Alioum Boukar saved it, and Cameroon took the trophy. Twenty years later he was the coach in Yaoundé when Senegal took that title for the first time, in 2021; as a player he captained the side to the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals, and he was named CAF Coach of the Year in 2022. CB2002–22

83 Demba Ba 22 caps · 3 goals · TSG 1899 Hoffenheim, Newcastle UnitedSteven Gerrard's touch got away from him at Anfield on 27 April 2014, and Ba was on to the ball before anyone else moved; the finish turned the title race toward Manchester City. He won the Süper Lig twice, with Beşiktaş in 2017 and Başakşehir in 2020, their first championship; he scored 16 Premier League goals for Newcastle in 2011-12 and the 87th-minute goal that put Chelsea past PSG into the 2014 Champions League semi-finals. SS2011–20

83 Moussa Sow Stade Rennais, Lille OSCThe Şükrü Saracoğlu was still settling when he hooked in an overhead kick against Manchester United two minutes into the Europa League tie of 3 November 2016. His 25 goals won the Ligue 1 scoring title and carried Lille to the league and cup double in 2010-11, and he later won the Süper Lig with Fenerbahçe in 2014 and the Turkish Cup in 2013, closing with 18 goals in 50 caps for Senegal. LM2010–16

82 Cheikhou Kouyaté 92 caps · 4 goals · R.S.C. Anderlecht, West Ham UnitedEight minutes into West Ham's first competitive match at the Olympic Stadium on 4 August 2016, Kouyaté scored the ground's opening goal, and he added another in the 3-0 win over NK Domžale. Senegal's breakthrough Africa Cup of Nations title in 2021 followed the final they lost in 2019, and before that he took four Belgian championships and three Super Cups with Anderlecht, ending on 92 caps. CM2016–21

82 Ismaïla Sarr 8 caps · 1 goals · FC Metz, Stade RennaisLiverpool had gone 44 league games unbeaten when Sarr scored twice in the second half at Vicarage Road on 29 February 2020 and laid on Troy Deeney's third in a 3-0 Watford win. He won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal in 2021, the 2025-26 Conference League with Crystal Palace as its top scorer and player of the season, the 2025 FA Cup, and the 2019 Coupe de France with Rennes. LM2019–25

15 PC 82 Papiss Cissé AS Douanes, AS Cherbourg FootballNewcastle were 1-0 up at Stamford Bridge on 2 May 2012 when Cissé, out near the left touchline, hit a shot that swerved and dropped over Petr Čech into the far corner; it won the BBC goal of the season. Thirteen goals in his first 14 Premier League appearances after arriving that January followed a Bundesliga season at Freiburg in which his 22 goals beat Tony Yeboah's African record, and he scored 17 in 36 caps for Senegal. ST2010s

81 Abdou Diallo AS Monaco, Paris Saint-GermainWhen the shootout started in Yaoundé on 6 February 2022, he stepped up second behind Koulibaly and scored, and three penalties later Mané finished Egypt off to give Senegal a first Cup of Nations. That trophy heads a list holding two Ligue 1 titles with Paris Saint-Germain, two Coupes de France, a Champions League final in 2020, and all four of Senegal's matches at the 2022 World Cup. CB2020–22

81 Habib Beye 35 caps · 1 goals · RC Strasbourg Alsace, Olympique de MarseilleMarseille made him captain, and he was the centre-back on duty in the 2004 UEFA Cup final in Gothenburg, beaten 2-0 by Valencia. He won 45 Senegal caps, reached the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals and came off the bench in the last-16 win over Sweden, finished runner-up at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, and took a place in the 2004-05 Ligue 1 team of the year and Newcastle's player of the season award for 2007-08. RM2002–07

18 LD 81 Lamine Diatta 71 caps · Toulouse, Stade RennaisSenegal's first match at a World Cup was the 1-0 win over holders France in Seoul on 31 May 2002, and Diatta held the centre of defence against Henry and Trézéguet for ninety minutes. He played in every match of the run to the quarter-finals, captained the country across 71 caps, lost the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations final on penalties, and won two Ligue 1 titles with Lyon in 2005 and 2006. CB2002–06

19 PG 81 Pape Gueye Villarreal CFDeep in extra time of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations final on 18 January 2026, Gueye struck to put Senegal ahead of hosts Morocco, a result CAF's appeal board later overturned in Morocco's favour. He won the Africa Cup of Nations with Senegal in 2021, made the 2025 team of the tournament with three goals, and started the group-stage win over Ecuador that carried Senegal into the 2022 World Cup last sixteen. CM2019–2026

81 Salif Diao AS Monaco, CS Sedan ArdennesFourteen seconds separated Henri Camara's sliding tackle from the finish Diao tucked away in Daegu on 6 June 2002, a breakaway FIFA still files under World Cup wonder goals, and he was sent off later in the same 1-1 draw with Denmark. Senegal went on to the quarter-finals that summer, having lost the Cup of Nations final to Cameroon in February; with Monaco he won the French championship in 2000, and he finished with 39 caps and four goals. CM2000–02

21 TS 81 Tony Sylva 83 caps · Gazélec Ajaccio, Lille OSCThierry Henry got in behind at the death on 31 May 2002 and Sylva blocked him from close range, keeping the 1-0 with which Senegal beat the reigning world champions in their first World Cup match. He started all five games of that quarter-final run, was runner-up and team-of-the-tournament keeper at the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations, made CAF's team of the year in 2005, won Ligue 1 with Monaco in 2000 and finished on 83 caps. GK2000–05

80 Boulaye Dia Stade de ReimsBoualem Khoukhi slipped inside the Qatar penalty area on 25 November 2022 and Dia was first to the loose ball, driving Senegal ahead in the 41st minute of a 3-1 win over the host nation. He was in the squad that won Senegal's first Africa Cup of Nations in 2021, reached the last 16 in Qatar, finished runner-up at the 2025 edition, and scored 16 Serie A goals on loan at Salernitana. ST2021–25

80 Ferdinand Coly 48 caps · LB Châteauroux, R.C. LensSeoul, 31 May 2002: Coly lined up against the holders France in the opening match of the World Cup and walked off with a 1-0 win, Papa Bouba Diop's half-hour goal doing the damage. Senegal reached the quarter-finals from there, three months after losing the Cup of Nations final on penalties to Cameroon, and Coly took 43 caps between 2000 and 2007, captaining the side at the 2006 tournament. RB2000–07

24 MD 80 Mohamed Diamé At Wembley on 28 May 2016 he struck the only goal of the Championship play-off final and carried Hull City back into the Premier League. That promotion and the Championship title he won with Newcastle a year later crown a decade in England spent at Wigan, West Ham, Hull and Newcastle, while Senegal gave him 31 caps, two Africa Cup of Nations campaigns and the 2012 Olympic tournament as an overage player. CDM2012–16

25 OD 80 Omar Daf 53 caps · Evian Thonon Gaillard, FC Sochaux-MontbéliardIt took until 7 April 2012 for Daf to score his first goal in Ligue 1, and he chose the reigning champions Lille to do it, by then wearing Brest colours after twelve years at Sochaux. With Senegal he reached the 2002 World Cup quarter-finals and lost the Africa Cup of Nations final that same February; at Sochaux, 387 official matches brought the League Cup in 2004 and the Coupe de France in 2007. LB2002–12

26 SS 80 Salif Sané FC Girondins de Bordeaux, A.S. Nancy-LorraineNo one in the Bundesliga won more aerial duels than him in 2017-18, 181 of them at better than eight in ten, and no one cleared more either, 232 in all, which is what Hannover had in 1.96m of centre-half before Schalke signed him that summer. He was a Cup of Nations runner-up in 2019, starting the final in Cairo in place of the suspended Koulibaly, played at the 2018 World Cup, and closed at 33 caps. CB2017–19

27 SC 80 Souleymane Camara AS Monaco, OGC NiceHis 48th Ligue 1 goal for Montpellier arrived in August 2017 and pushed Laurent Blanc off a club record that had stood 26 years. The 2012 Ligue 1 title is the biggest thing he won, nine goals of it his own, and he ended with 433 Montpellier appearances, more than anyone in the club's history, plus 37 Senegal caps, the 2002 World Cup and the run to that year's Africa Cup of Nations final. ST2002–17

79 Krépin Diatta 52 caps · 2 goals · Sarpsborg 08 FF, Club Brugge K.V.In Istanbul on 26 November 2019 he levelled it for Club Brugge at Galatasaray in the second minute of stoppage time, pulled his shirt over his head, and walked off with a second yellow card. Named best young player at the 2019 Africa Cup of Nations, where Senegal lost the final, he was a runner-up again in 2025, reached the last 16 at the 2022 World Cup, and won two Belgian league titles with Club Brugge. RM2019–25

29 MB 79 Mame Biram Diouf 47 caps · 10 goals · Molde FK, Stoke CityA 70-yard run at the Etihad on 30 August 2014 still gets replayed in Stoke, Diouf carrying the ball from deep and slotting past Joe Hart for the only goal against Manchester City. Ten goals in 47 Senegal caps carried him to the Cup of Nations in 2015 and 2017 and the 2018 World Cup, and a League Cup medal came from Manchester United's 2010 final, watched from the bench. ST2010–18

79 Pape Matar Sarr Less than a year after his first Senegal cap he came off the bench in the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations semi-final against Burkina Faso, still a Metz loanee, and finished the tournament a champion. That title was Senegal's first, and he has since played a World Cup, taken CAF's young player of the year award for 2022, and won the 2025 Europa League with Tottenham, where his pass set up Brennan Johnson's winner in the final. CM2021–25

78 Lamine Gassama 13 caps · Olympique Lyonnais, F.C. LorientTwo minutes into the 2019 final in Cairo, Bounedjah's shot clipped Salif Sané and dropped over Alfred Gomis, and Gassama spent the rest of that July night at right back chasing a game Senegal never levelled. CAF still put him in the Team of the Tournament for that run, the high point of 49 caps that also took in the 2018 World Cup in Russia and the quarter-finals in Gabon two years earlier. RB2018–19

32 SC 78 Saliou Ciss Tromsø IL, ValenciennesOn 6 February 2022 in Yaoundé he played all 120 minutes at left back as Senegal and Egypt finished goalless, then watched Sadio Mané convert the kick that settled the shootout 4-2. That night handed Senegal the Africa Cup of Nations for the first time in their history, and CAF put Ciss in the Team of the Tournament, the high point of a 39-cap career running from 2012 to 2022. LB2012–22

33 PM 77 Pape Malick Diop 56 caps · Neuchâtel Xamax FCS, F.C. LorientAt the Stade de France on 11 May 2002 he held the centre of Lorient's defence through the Coupe de France final, won 1-0 against Bastia. Fifty-six caps for Senegal between 1998 and 2006 took him to the 2002 World Cup quarter-final and the 2002 Africa Cup of Nations final, and he was named in the Team of the Tournament at the 2000 Africa Cup of Nations. CB1998–2006

About this XI

Sadio Mané tops Senegal's all-time pool, ahead of Kalidou Koulibaly and El Hadji Diouf. The 33 covers 2 goalkeepers, 10 defenders, 15 midfielders and 6 forwards. Sadio Mané leads the pool at 91 overall. Pick a formation, drag your eleven onto the pitch, then settle the duels below. Your votes reorder the people's ranking of these 33 in real time.

Left out, and why

A 33 is a set of decisions, and these are the players who lost their place in the last revision of Senegal's list. Every one of them has a case.

Boubacar FallRated 75 in the almanac. The place went to Pape Gueye.

Disagree? That is the point. Settle it in the duels above.

Who is the greatest Senegal footballer of all time?

In the 33 Legends editorial ranking, Sadio Mané leads Senegal with an overall rating of 91. The editorial top five: Sadio Mané, Kalidou Koulibaly, El Hadji Diouf, Édouard Mendy, Idrissa Gana Gueye. The people's ranking on this page moves with every duel vote and can disagree.

How were these 33 Senegal players chosen?

The pool covers every position across Senegal's football history. Ratings weigh peak level, longevity, honours and historical standing, then the full methodology page explains the tiers. Fan votes in the duels build a second, independent ranking.

Which Senegal players reach the Immortal tier or higher?

None yet. Sadio Mané leads the Senegal pool at 91, in the Legend tier.

Can I build and share my own Senegal all-time XI?

Yes. Pick one of eight formations, drag any of the 33 onto the pitch, and export your lineup as a PNG. There is no account and no sign-up.