Senegal were one of the stories of the 2002 World Cup.
The Lions of Teranga were just the second African nation to reach the quarter-finals of a World Cup, following in the footsteps of Cameroon from Italia ’90. Like Cameroon, Senegal’s World Cup would end at the quarter-final stage. And in extra-time. But this one saw them beaten on golden goal, just four minutes after extra-time had started.
Nevertheless it was an exciting tournament for Senegal. They beat France in their opening group game and drew the next two, to finish second behind Denmark — at the expense of Les Bleus and Uruguay. Senegal then Sweden in the last 16 on golden goal.
But what happened to that Senegal squad across the rest of their careers? We’ve taken a look at all 23 players.
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Tony Sylva
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Age: 50
Tony Sylva played in five major tournaments for Senegal, though this was his only World Cup. Sylva played every game for Senegal at the World Cup and will always be able to boast the fact that he kept a clean sheet against France. A France that included the likes of David Trezeguet, Thierry Henry and Sylvain Wiltord, no less.
At Monaco in 2002, Syvla spent two more years with the club before moving to Lille. After four years there, he made the move to Turkey — the first time he played senior club football outside of France. Sylva retired in 2010, making his 83rd and final Senegal appearance in 2008. He’s now part of the Senegal setup as a goalkeeping coach.
Omar Daf
- Position: Defender
- Age: 48
Omar Daf played every minute for Senegal at the 2002 World Cup, as the first-choice left-back. But he wasn’t really a regular for Senegal throughout his career. He retired with 55 caps to his name spread across 13 years between his first and last.
Daf was another to spend his entire club career in France, and he represented just two clubs. After spending more than a decade at Sochaux, Daf moved to Stade Brest in 2009. He spent three years there before returning to Sochaux for one final season. Daf retired in 2013 and turned his hand to management. He has managed Sochaux, Dijon and current club Amiens.
Pape Malick Diop
- Position: Defender
- Age: 50
Pape Malick Diop’s Senegal career only lasted two years after the World Cup, making his final appearance in 2004. But his club career went on for four more years. The defender was playing his club football in France at the time of the World Cup, representing Lorient.
He had not long joined Lorient, and spent three years with the club before joining Guingmap. But his stay there lasted just a year. Diop retired in 2008, having spent his final two years at FC Metz.
Aliou Cisse
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 49
Aliou Cisse was Senegal captain for the World Cup, mixing his time between playing in defence and midfield. He didn’t play for Senegal much after the World Cup, winding down his time with the national team. In fact, he only made 33 caps for Senegal. Which sounds too small a number for a player of his stature.
Shortly after the World Cup, Cisse moved from PSG to Birmingham City. He stayed in England for four years, also spending two of those at Portsmouth. Cisse returned to France for spells with Sedan and Nimes, retiring in 2009. He was another to turn to management, and he had the honour of taking charge of his country. Cisse managed Senegal 101 times during his career, leaving last year. He is now manager of Libya.
Lamine Diatta
- Position: Defender
- Age: 50
Lamine Diatta had a decent run in the Senegal team after the World Cup. He was a regular starter at two Africa Cup of Nations, and his final appearance came in the 2008 edition of the tournament. He even captained the Lions of Teranga a handful of times.
Diatta was playing for Rennes at the time of the 2002 World Cup, eventually joining Lyon. After two years there, he left for Saint-Etienne. But Diatta only played there for one year, kicking off a bit of a world tour. Diatta represnted Besitkas, Newcastle United, Hamilton Academical, Al-Ahli, Etoile Sportive du Sahel and Doncaster Rovers before retiring in 2012. He is another former player now part of the Senegal backroom staff.
Ferdinand Coly
- Position: Defender
- Age: 52
Ferdinand Coly had a good year in 2002, being a regular starter at Afcon and the World Cup. But that’s where his international career peaked, in terms of consistent gametime. Coly did also appear at Afcon in 2004 and 2006 but his appearances were not much of a guarantee.
Coly was another of this squad to join Birmingham after the World Cup, but his move came in January 2003. And it was only on loan from Lens. Coly left Lens in 2003, spending the final five years of his career in Italy with Perugia and then Parma.
Khalilou Fadiga
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 50
Khalilou Fadiga’s international career started to wind down after 2002, and he only made a handful of appearance post-World Cup. But his club career lasted a lot longer.
A year after the World Cup, Fadiga swiched France for Italy, joining Inter Milan from Auxerre. He then spent two years in England, first with Bolton Wanderers and then Derby County. Fadiga left for Al-Wakrah in Qatar but then returned to England, joining Coventry City. He ended his career in 2012, spending four years in Belgium with three different clubs.
Salif Diao
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 48
Salif Diao will be a familiar name to English fans. He was also an established member of the Senegal squad around this period, representing them at three major tournaments.
Diao joined Liverpool shortly after the World Cup, leaving French club Sedan. He left the Reds five years later, with a few loan spells at Birmingham, Portsmouth and Stoke City. Diao joined Stoke permanently in 2007 and spent five years at the club before retiring.
Papa Bouba Diop
- Position: Midfielder
Papa Bouba Diop scored three goals at the World Cup in 2002, including the only goal in Senegal’s win over France. He played every minute for Senegal and was a big part of their side during his playing career. He made his final appearance for the national team in 2008.
Diop was plying his trade in France at the time of the World Cup, having recently moved to Lens. The midfielder made the move to England in 2004, first joining Fulham. He then spent spells at Portsmouth, West Ham United and Birmingham — as well as a year in Greece with AEK Athens. Diop retired in 2013 and sadly passed away in 2020 after a long illness.
Henri Camara
- Position: Forward
- Age: 48
Only Sadio Mane has scored more goals for Senegal than Henri Camara, who netted his 29 across 99 caps. Two of those came at the 2002 World Cup, both in the 2-1 win over Sweden in the last 16. Camara remained an integral part of Senegal’s squad until his international career came to an end in 2008.
Camara’s club career ran for 10 more years. He spent a lot of time in England and Greece, representing a host of clubs. His first English club were Wolverhampton Wanderers, joining them in 2003. After a loan spell at Celtic, Camara also played for the likes of Wigan Athletic, West Ham, Stoke City and Sheffield United. He retired in 2018, aged 41, and was Senegal’s most-capped player before eventually being overtaken by Mane and Idrissa Gueye.
El Hadji Diouf
- Position: Forward
- Age: 44
El Hadji Diouf was one of the younger players of Senegal’s squad, at the age of just 21. He didn’t score at the World Cup but did provide three assists. He also did go on to score a decent number of goals for Senegal, still sitting third on their list of all-time top scorers. Diouf scored 24 goals in 70 caps, during an international career that spanned eight years.
Diouf will be most remembered for his time in England, joining Liverpool from Lens in the summer of 2002. He spent three years with the Reds before joining Bolton, having had a year on loan initially. Diouf also represented Sunderland, Blackburn Rovers, Doncaster and Leeds United in England. He had a loan spell at Rangers north of the border, too. Diouf retired in 2016, after a year in Malaysia, and he’s now involved with the Senegalese national team.
Omar Diallo
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Age: 53
From one of the youngest, to one of the oldest. Omar Diallo was the second-oldest player in Senegal’s squad, even if he was only 29. The backup goalkeeper, Diallo didn’t get on the pitch at the World Cup, but he did make 32 appearances overall.
Diallo split his playing career across Senegal, Morocco and Turkey. He moved from Olympique Khourigba to ASC Jaraaf after the World Cup, returning to his native Senegal. He left the club in 2006, having also spent a year in Turkey with Sakaryaspor. Diallo retired in 2007.
Kalidou Cissokho
- Position: Goalkeeper
- Age: 47
The other goalkeeper of the squad, Kalidou Cissokho also failed to make an appearance at the World Cup. In fact, he made just one appearance for Senegal during his career. He was also backup at Afcon in 2024.
Cissokho played for just two teams during his career, first representing Jeanne d’Arc in General before spending nine years with Dynamo Baku. He retired in 2012.
Alassane N’Dour
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 43
There were only two players younger than Alassane N’Dour in Senegal’s World Cup squad. There may have been high hopes for the midfielder. But N’Dour only won eight caps for Senegal during his career. One of those came at the World Cup, with N’Dour starting the final group game against Uruguay. He wouldn’t play for Senegal past 2002.
Surprise, surprise. N’Dour also spent some of his career in England, joining West Bromwich Albion on loan in 2003 — helping them secure promotion to the Premier League. He left parent club Saint-Etienne in the summer of 2004, joining fellow French side Troyes. N’Dour then returned to England for a short stay at Walsall, retiring in 2010 after a stint in Greece.
Habib Beye
- Position: Defender
- Age: 48
Habib Beye came off the bench for a handful of appearances at the World Cup. And despite making 45 appearances for the Lions of Teranga, he was always more of a squad player. Although there were some spells of starts. He retired from international football in 2008 to prolong his club career.
Beye started his career in France and left Strasbourg for Marseille a year after the World Cup. He spent four years there before making his move to England. Newcastle United were the first destination, with Beye spending two years at St James’ Park. He then had spells with Aston Villa and Doncaster, before retiring in 2012.
Pape Sarr
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 47
Pape Sarr only managed 45 minutes at the World Cup, but he would play quite a bit during his four-year stint in the national team. The midfielder racked up over 50 caps for the Lions of Teranga, scoring a handful of goals before his final appearance in 2004.
Sarr spent most of his club career in France, aside from a short loan spell in Spain with Alaves. He retired in 2012, and is the father of Chelsea defender Mamadou Sarr (currently on loan at Strasbourg).
Amdy Faye
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 48
Amdy Faye was restricted to just two appearances at the 2002 World Cup, though one was the last-16 win over Sweden — in which he played every minute. Faye went on to represent Senegal until 2006, starting all but one game in their Africa Cup of Nations journey that year.
Faye was playing for Auxerre at the time of the World Cup, and made his move to Portsmouth a year later. He spent the next eight years of his career either in England or linked to an English club, with a loan spell at Rangers. Faye retired in 2011 after a few months with Leeds.
Moussa N’Diaye
- Position: Winger
- Age: 46
Moussa N’Diaye started Senegal’s first two games at the World Cup but then had to make do with a substitute role for the remainder of the tournament. N’Diaye continued to represent his country until 2007, scoring eight goals including four in the 2006 World Cup qualifying campaign.
N’Diaye spent a good chunk of his club career in France, and represented the likes of Ajaccio and Auxerre in the years following the World Cup. He then made the move to Qatar for a few years, before playing in Senegal. N’Diaye spent the final five years of his caerer in his home country, retiring in 2015.
Sylvain N’Diaye
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 49
Sylvain N’Diaye was an unusued squad member throughout the World Cup, but was taken to provide depth to the base of the midfield. He played 24 times for Senegal across a brief stint with the national team.
N’Diaye had a longer club career, spending a lot of his time in France. He switched Lille for Marseille the year after the World Cup, spending two years there. He then had three years in Spain with Levante including a loan spell at CD Tenerife. N’Diaye returned to France for a few more years before retiring in 2011. He turned to scouting after his career, and is currently at Atletico Madrid after spells with Paris Saint-Germain and Liverpool.
Makhtar N’Diaye
- Position: Midfielder
- Age: 43
Makhtar N’Diaye was another to not play a minute at the 2002 World Cup, though he was the second-youngest player in the Senegal squad. He didn’t spend much time with the national team overall either, making 14 appearances in total.
N’Diaye didn’t have a long career, retiring at the age of 26. He spent a good chunk of his club career with Rennes, leaving in 2005 for Swiss club Yverdon Sport. He also joined Rangers in 2007 but played just three games for the Scottish club in the season he was there.
Amara Traore
- Position: Forward
- Age: X
Amara Traore was the oldest player of the Senegal squad, entering the tournament just a few months before his 37th birthday. He was at the World Cup purely for the experience, ending his international career shortly after.
Traore also retired from club football a year after the World Cup, ending his career in France. He turned to management a few yeras later, first taking charge of Senegalese club ASC La Linguere. He then managed Senegal for three years, but left his role after losing all three games at Afcon in 2012.
Souleymane Camara
- Position: Winger
- Age: 42
From the oldest member of the squad to the youngest, Souleymane Camara was just 19 at the World Cup. He came off the bench in Senegal’s draw against Denmark, his only minutes at the tournament. Camara would go on to represent Senegal for 10 more years, amassing 25 caps in total.
Camara was representing Monaco at the time of the World Cup and stayed at the club until 2005, leaving for Nice. He made his next move in 2008, joining Montpellier after a year on loan. And he stayed at the club until his retirement in 2020, playing more matches for Montpellier than any other player in their history.
Pape Thiaw
- Position: Forward
- Age: 44
Pape Thiaw had to play second fiddle to Henri Camara and Diouf at the World Cup, but he did play in the last-16 win over Sweden. He didn’t have a long international career as a player, making 16 appearances across a few years.
Thiaw joined Dinamo Moscow shortly after the World Cup, starting a bit of a tour across the globe. He represented clubs in Switzerland, Spain and Senegal as well as going back to France. Thiaw retired in 2014 and would turn his hand to management, first at former club ASC Niarry. He then took charge of the Senegalese national team in 2024, leading them to qualification for the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations.