Pathé Ismaël Ciss

A tall, rangy defensive midfielder, Pathé Ciss built his career in Spain, joining Rayo Vallecano from Fuenlabrada in 2021 and making nearly 180 appearances for the club, who reached the 2025/26 UEFA Conference League final as runners-up. He wears No. 6 and is under contract to 2027. He debuted for Senegal in 2022 and went to Qatar 2022, starting against Ecuador and in the round-of-16 defeat to England, and was part of the 2025 AFCON squad (the final win over Morocco was later overturned by CAF). Ahead of Senegal's World Cup 2026 group meeting with Norway, he delivered a memorable warning to Norwegian broadcaster TV2: "We have to stop the whole team. I believe that without his teammates, Haaland won't shine," noting that LaLiga rivals like Alexander Sørloth and Jørgen Strand Larsen also threaten. Against France, under Pape Thiaw, he did not start — the midfield three was Camara, Idrissa Gueye and Pape Gueye — in the 3-1 loss.