Missing the talismanic Sadio Mane and beaten in their opener by the Netherlands, Senegal could do with a dose of World Cup cheer.
Fortunately, their next Group A game sees them come up against hosts Qatar, who looked shambolic en route to defeat against Ecuador on the opening day of the tournament.
Another defeat for either team here and it would be difficult to make a case for them reaching the knockout stages.
Below are the predicted lineups for both sides ahead of this Group A match.
Qatar vs Senegal lineups
After being undone by poor performances in goal in their opening games, both teams are considering taking the unusual step of replacing their goalkeepers for this one.
Chelsea’s Edouard Mendy, who made errors for both Netherlands goals, would be the man to pay the price for Senegal. And there is stiff competition between Alfred Gomis and Seny Dieng to be the man to replace him if that happens.
As for Qatar, they are weighing up whether to drop 80-cap Saad Al-Sheeb for Meshaal Barsham, who has a comparatively paltry 15 national team appearances to his name.
Qatar predicted starting 11
Qatar (5-3-2, right to left): 22. Barsham (GK) – 2. Pedro Miguel, 16. Khoukhi, 3. Hassan, 15. Al Rawi, 14. Ahmed – 12. Boudiaf, 6. Hatim, 10. Al-Haydos – 11. Afif, 19. Ali
- Injured: none
- Suspended: none
live:Qatar vs Senegal World Cup
Qatar have no fresh injury concerns to contend with ahead of their second group game, and so could name a similar starting line-up, apart from that possible change in goal.
Senegal predicted starting 11
(4-3-3, right to left): 23. S. Dieng (GK) — 21. Sabaly, 12. P. Cisse, 3. Koulibaly, 4. A. Diallo — 13. P. Gueye, 6. N. Mendy, 5. I. Gueye — 15. Diatta, 21. Dia, 18. I. Sarr
- Injured: Ballo-Toure (hamstring)
- Suspended: none
With Fode Ballo-Toure yet to resume full training, Abdou Diallo is likely to continue to deputise at left-back for Senegal.
Cheick Kouyate will need to be replaced in midfield after being forced off against the Netherlands, and Pape Gueye could be the man to get the nod.
Qatar vs Senegal World Cup squads
Here are the 26 names on each team’s squad lists at the World Cup in Qatar:
Qatar
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Saad Al-Sheeb | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 80 |
| GK | 22 | Meshaal Barsham | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 24 | 15 |
| GK | 21 | Yousuf Hassan | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 26 | 9 |
| DEF | 2 | Pedro Miguel | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 78 |
| DEF | 13 | Musaab Khidir | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 29 |
| DEF | 5 | Tarek Salman | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 24 | 54 |
| DEF | 4 | Mohammed Waad | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 23 | 20 |
| DEF | 15 | Bassam Al Rawi | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 24 | 51 |
| DEF | 16 | Boualem Khoukhi | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 32 | 99 |
| DEF | 17 | Ismail Mohammad | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 32 | 66 |
| DEF | 14 | Homam Ahmed | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 23 | 27 |
| MID | 3 | Abdelkarim Hassan | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 120 |
| MID | 25 | Jassim Jabir | Al-Arabi (QAT) | 20 | 0 |
| MID | 8 | Ali Asad | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 29 | 56 |
| MID | 23 | Assim Madibo | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 26 | 43 |
| MID | 20 | Salem Al-Hajri | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 26 | 23 |
| MID | 26 | Tarek Mustafa | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 21 | 1 |
| MID | 12 | Karim Boudiaf | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 32 | 108 |
| MID | 6 | Abdulaziz Hatim | Al-Rayyan (QAT) | 32 | 96 |
| MID | 24 | Naif Al-Hadhrami | Al-Rayyan (QAT) | 21 | 1 |
| MID | 10 | Hassan Al-Haydos | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 31 | 160 |
| FWD | 7 | Ahmed Alaaeldin | Al-Gharafa (QAT) | 29 | 45 |
| FWD | 11 | Akram Afif | Al-Sadd (QAT) | 25 | 83 |
| FWD | 19 | Almoez Ali | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 26 | 82 |
| FWD | 9 | Mohammed Muntari | Al-Duhail (QAT) | 28 | 41 |
| FWD | 18 | Khalid Muneer | Al-Wakrah (QAT) | 24 | 3 |
Senegal
| Position | No. | Player | Club | Age | Caps |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| GK | 1 | Edouard Mendy | Chelsea (ENG) | 30 | 25 |
| GK | 25 | Alfred Gomis | Rennes (FRA) | 29 | 14 |
| GK | 23 | Seny Dieng | QPR (ENG) | 27 | 3 |
| DEF | 3 | Kalidou Koulibaly | Chelsea (ENG) | 31 | 63 |
| DEF | 12 | Pape Abou Cisse | Olympiacos (GRE) | 27 | 12 |
| DEF | 4 | Abdou Diallo | RB Leipzig (GER) | 26 | 18 |
| DEF | 22 | Fode Ballo-Toure | AC Milan (ITA) | 25 | 14 |
| DEF | 14 | Moustapha Name | Pafos (CYP) | 27 | 6 |
| DEF | 11 | Formose Mendy | Amiens (FRA) | 21 | 2 |
| DEF | 6 | Moussa Ndiaye | Anderlecht (BEL) | 20 | 0 |
| DEF | 7 | Youssouf Sabaly | Real Betis (SPA) | 29 | 24 |
| DEF | 8 | Cheikhou Kouyate | Nottingham Forest (ENG) | 32 | 82 |
| MID | 5 | Idrissa Gueye | Everton (ENG) | 33 | 95 |
| MID | 6 | Nampalys Mendy | Leicester City (ENG) | 30 | 18 |
| MID | 13 | Pape Gueye | Marseille (FRA) | 23 | 11 |
| MID | 17 | Pape Matar Sarr | Tottenham (ENG) | 20 | 8 |
| MID | 24 | Mamadou Loum N’Diaye | Reading (ENG) | 25 | 3 |
| MID | 16 | Pathe Ciss | Rayo Vallecano (SPA) | 28 | 0 |
| MID | 15 | Krepin Diatta | Monaco (FRA) | 23 | 25 |
| FWD | 18 | Ismalia Sarr | Watford (ENG) | 24 | 47 |
| FWD | 21 | Boulaye Dia | Salernitana (ITA) | 25 | 18 |
| FWD | 20 | Bamba Dieng | Marseille (FRA) | 22 | 12 |
| FWD | 9 | Iliman Ndiaye | Sheffield United (ENG) | 27 | 14 |
| FWD | 19 | Famara Diedhou | Alanyaspor (TUR) | 29 | 24 |
| FWD | 25 | Nicolas Jackson | Villarreal (SPA) | 21 | 22 |
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