Senegal

Africa's standard-bearer of the past decade and, at 12th, the highest-ranked African nation in the world (an all-time high). Their golden era began at the 2002 World Cup, when debutants Senegal beat reigning champions France 1–0 and stormed to the quarter-finals; in 2022 they reached the Round of 16. The squad is powered by a large France-raised contingent and fronted by Sadio Mané (Al-Nassr), the in-form Ismaïla Sarr (Crystal Palace) and Nicolas Jackson (on loan at Bayern), with veteran Kalidou Koulibaly and Édouard Mendy anchoring the spine.

The 'African champions' tag, though, now comes with an asterisk: Senegal won the 2021 Africa Cup of Nations (their first, beating Egypt on penalties in February 2022), but the 2025 final was overturned. Senegal beat Morocco on the pitch, only for CAF to award Morocco a 3–0 walkover on appeal after the Senegalese walked off in protest — a ruling Senegal are contesting at the Court of Arbitration for Sport.