Although Sadio Mane is one of the most influential mascots of the Senegal squad. but that doesn't mean this team will be weak in terms of their attacking sharpness, even without Sadio Mane.
actually the Senegal squad has several other names although not very well known, Krepin Dieta, Monaco, Kieta Balde, Spartak Moscow, Bamba Dieng, Marseille, Ismaila Sarr, Watford, Habib Diallo, RC Strabourg, Demba Seck, Torino, Nicolas Jackson, Villareal. here's a list of names, of the strikers owned by the Senegal squad.
almost entirely, the players of the Senegal squad, playing in the european league competition, including their goalkeeper playing for Chelsea, Kalidou Koulibaly. as well as the midfielders that Senegal has, some playing in the Premier League and Ligue 1. so what do you think, the strength of Senegal in this Group A.
Even without Sadio Mane, I'm still optimistic that they will qualify for the next round with the Netherlands.
Maybe I didn't express myself that good. I didn't mean that Senegal doesn't have a chance to advance to the next round without Sadio Mane. I'm just saying that it will be much harder to win without him and that's where I see chance for Qatar and Ecuador. Personally, out of those three teams I would love to see Senegal advancing to the next stage. I love them ever since they beat France at the start of the World Cup in South Korea and Japan twenty years ago.
I totally understand your point, I agree that it is not easy for the Senegal squad to qualify even with Sadio Mane. even Ecuador cannot be underestimated by Senegal, they were able to hold Argentina 1-1, draw Brazil 1-1, overthrow Chile 0-2, and finish in the top four of the CONMEBOL World Cup Qualification.
however, if we refer to the ranking they have, on paper, Senegal and the Netherlands are the favorites who will qualify for the next round. although in fact, we do not know how the outcome will be.
So far, we are only talking based on available data and statistics. in the end, the real results will be known after this championship really starts.
speaking France vs Senegal at the 2002 world cup event, I remember very well at that time Senegal had the star name El-Hadji Diouf, Senegal won with a score of 0-1. in fact, the French squad is filled with many star players, one of which is David Trezeguet, Thierry Henry, Patrick Viera.
but what was interesting in the world cup was the home team, South Korea with all their controversies, overthrowing Italy, which at that time was a star-studded squad, there were Vieri, Del Viero and King Totti, plus midfielders and defenders who became legends.
