How Did It Come to This? Senegal Are on the Brink and Time Is Running Out

Before this World Cup began, Senegal were being talked about as Africa's best hope for a deep run. Unbeaten in qualifying. A squad packed with Premier League quality. A captain in Kalidou Koulibaly who commanded respect across the world. A fanbase still burning with fire after the AFCON controversy. A team, many believed, with everything it needed to go far.

Two games in, Senegal have zero points. Zero goals from open play that mattered. And on Friday, they face Iraq in Toronto knowing that only a win, combined with results going their way elsewhere, gives them any chance of surviving the group stage.vThis is not what anyone expected. And the Lions of Teranga have nobody to blame but themselves.

Game One: France and the Chances That Haunted Them

Against France, Senegal were the better team for 66 minutes. Let that sink in. France, one of the tournament favourites, with Mbappe, Dembele, Olise and Doue in their starting lineup. Senegal matched them. Outplayed them in spells. Created the better openings in the first half.

Ismaila Sarr had the chance to give Senegal the lead before half time. He was yards from goal. He shot straight over the bar. Nicolas Jackson worked hard throughout but his end product let him down repeatedly. Sadio Mane, carrying the hopes of an entire nation in what many expected to be his final defining World Cup performance, was not efficient enough in the final third when the chances arrived. And then France woke up.

Michael Olise's pass split the Senegal defence and Mbappe buried it. Barcola came off the bench and added a second. Substitute Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back in stoppage time with a wonderful individual goal that gave Senegal hope for two full minutes. And then Mbappe lashed a long-range effort into the net to seal it at 3-1 and make history as France's all-time leading scorer.

Edouard Mendy was honest afterwards. “We were not able to execute our game plan. We knew we had to raise our level in the second half and be more clinical going forward. We only managed to do that in spells.” That sentence tells the whole story of Senegal's first game. Spells. Not sustained pressure. Not clinical finishing. Spells.

Game Two: Koulibaly and the Night Everything Fell Apart

If losing to France was painful, losing to Norway on Monday night was something else entirely. Senegal's captain, a man who has spent his career as one of the most reliable defenders in world football, had a night that will stay with him for a very long time. In the 43rd minute, Koulibaly made an error that substitute Marcus Holmgren Pedersen pounced on immediately, lashing home to give Norway the lead. Three minutes after the restart, Haaland calmly slotted home after a perfect pass from Martin Odegaard to double Norway's advantage. Ismaila Sarr, who had failed to score against France when it mattered, pulled one back in the 53rd minute with an excellent finish after a neat flick from Mane set him free. It was the best moment of Senegal's tournament so far.

Five minutes later, Haaland poked in from close range to restore Norway's two-goal cushion. And that was that. Koulibaly stood in the mixed zone afterwards and owned every mistake. He did not hide. He did not deflect. He said what needed to be said. “I made mistakes. The team paid for it. I owe them better. ”That kind of accountability is admirable. But accountability alone does not change the scoreline.

The Numbers Are Brutal

Senegal came into this tournament unbeaten through qualifying. They beat England 3-1 at Wembley. They conceded just twice in seven AFCON matches. They were being spoken about as genuine dark horses for the knockout stages.

They have now conceded five goals in two World Cup games. They have scored once from open play. They have missed chances against both France and Norway that would have changed the entire complexion of their group campaign. This is not bad luck. This is a team that has underperformed at the worst possible time.

What About Mane?

I have to say something about Sadio Mane because millions of African fans are asking the same question. He came into this World Cup declaring it would be his last. Africa's greatest living footballer. Fifty-three international goals. A nation behind him. A career that deserved a World Cup moment worth remembering.

Against France, Mane was unfortunate to avoid conceding a penalty for a challenge on Mbappe, with the referee controversially ruling that Mbappe had initiated the contact. He worked hard throughout both games. But the brilliance, the electric directness, the moments of individual magic that defined him at Liverpool and at his best for Senegal, those have not come yet at this tournament.

At 34 years old, this is almost certainly his final World Cup. The clock is not his friend. And Friday against Iraq is his last chance to write a chapter worth telling.

Friday Is Everything

Senegal face Iraq in Toronto on Friday and it is the most important match in their recent history. Not because Iraq are a great team. Because of what losing or drawing would mean.

It would mean going home from a World Cup without a single point. It would mean Sadio Mane's last World Cup ended without a knockout stage appearance. It would mean Africa's most fancied side in this tournament arrived, stumbled and fell before anyone had even finished their first coffee.

That cannot happen. Senegal are better than this. The squad is better than this. Coach Pape Thiaw has better players available than what we have seen over these two games. But they need to prove it on Friday. With no more room for error. No more wasted chances. No more defensive lapses from the players who should know better. Senegal came to this World Cup with fire in their chest. That fire needs to show on the pitch in Toronto.

The Lions of Teranga have one game left to remind the world who they really are.

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