Lions du Sénégal, le mal des grands clubs
In its preparations for the World Cup, the Senegalese team suffered a defeat against the United States and a disappointing goalless draw against Saudi Arabia. These two poor performances have raised questions and led some to doubt the team's level. An often overlooked but potentially significant factor should be considered in this analysis: the absence of players from the squad who play for major clubs.
In the Africa Cup of Nations, Senegal is the undisputed champion, the undisputed favorite. But across the continent, almost all the teams are made up of players from mid-table or lower-table clubs. At the World Cup, the level is much higher. The players selected for the national team are mostly from big clubs. Take France, Senegal's first opponent, for example: they have no fewer than 15 players from the top ten clubs in Europe in their squad. A team like Spain has even gone so far as to not call up any Real Madrid players.
Meanwhile, Senegal has almost no regular starters at major clubs. Currently, Mamadou Sarr, Nicolas Jackson, and Ibrahima Mbaye play for Chelsea, Bayern Munich, and PSG, respectively. But their precarious status is well known. Jackson is a substitute and Mbaye plays very little, despite the former being the starting striker and the latter one of Senegal's brightest prospects. Sarr, supposed to be Koulibaly's replacement in the Lions' defense, is on the bench at Chelsea. As for the rest, Senegal has veterans playing in Saudi Arabia and players who rarely feature in the Champions League.
Today, the core of the team consists of players like Illiman Ndiaye, Ismaëla Sarr, and Gana Gueye, whose clubs are ranked between 13th and 15th in England. Only Villarreal, with Pape Gueye, occupies a respectable third place, which would have secured Champions League qualification. The result is evident in the World Cup: Senegal, despite consistent performances, was eliminated quite early. This highlights the importance of playing for top clubs. It allows you to participate in numerous competitions, notably the Champions League, the Club World Cup, and the Super Cups. Being in a top-tier club allows you to go far in these competitions, while mid-table clubs are eliminated very early. Players from top teams thus gain more experience in high-level matches. Of course, this criterion alone is not enough, as team cohesion and tactical choices also play a role, but top-level experience remains crucial in the World Cup.
Beyond the current squad, the relationship between Senegalese internationals and major clubs warrants consideration. Historically, the Lions have struggled to establish themselves permanently at top clubs. Sadio Mané remains one of the few players to have achieved this in over 20 years. El Hadji Diouf and Salif Diao failed at Liverpool before him. Kalidou Koulibaly and Édouard Mendy had one or two successful seasons at Chelsea before fading away. Gana Gueye had a notable spell at PSG, but only for two or three seasons. By comparison, the Italian Verratti spent 11 years at the club.
Yet there is no shortage of success stories in Africa with Eto'o and Drogba, Yaya Touré at Barcelona and City, Seydou Keita at Barça, Hakimi at PSG, Essien at Chelsea… If Senegal wants to go from being a big player in Africa to a big player in the world of football, it has an interest in looking into this question as soon as possible to find out why its players fall at the feet of the big clubs.
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