When the 2026 FIFA World Cup kicks off in North America in less than six months, Senegal will have to navigate arguably the tournament’s Group of Death, which features a finalist in each of the past two editions (France), arguably the world’s best striker in Norway’s Erling Haaland, and the winner of a playoff path featuring either Bolivia, Suriname, or Iraq. It’ll be a massive test for the Lions of Teranga, who have had the second-deepest run of any African team at the world’s premier competition.
The Africa Cup of Nations tournament will be an excellent test for Senegal to see where it stands as it prepares to face Les Blues on June 17. The Lions of Teranga will play their second match of Group D action against the Democratic Republic of the Congo — which is likely to enter Group K at next summer’s World Cup, assuming it can beat either Jamaica or New Caledonia — at 10 a.m. ET (4 p.m. local) on Saturday.
Senegal is a -130 favorite to win at DraftKings Sportsbook, and the Leopards are +450. There are +220 odds that the teams will draw.
Senegal vs. DR Congo prediction, pick
The Lions of Teranga lead the group on goal difference after the first day of matches, as they picked up a comfortable 3-0 win over lowly Botswana while DR Congo merely managed a 1-0 win over Benin. Relative to expectations, though, the Leopards’ performance might have been more impressive: while DR Congo, ranked 56th in the latest FIFA World Rankings, certainly should’ve been expected to beat No. 92 Benin, the Cheetahs put together a strong World Cup qualifying campaign, only losing out on a continental playoff spot on goal difference to Nigeria. Any result worse than No. 19 Senegal’s 3-0 thrashing of No. 138 Botswana would’ve been disappointing, given that the Zebras are the lowest-ranked nation in the field.
By world ranking, the Lions of Teranga are comfortably the second-best team on the continent. They played like it during World Cup qualifying, topping Group B by two points over the Leopards without dropping a point. During that qualification campaign, aging superstar Sadio Mané, who finished second in the 2022 Ballon d’Or voting while at Liverpool, led the team with five goals. However, Senegal also has plenty of up-and-coming talents: Tottenham’s Pepe Matar Sarr, Crystal Palace’s Ismaila Sarr, Everton’s Iliman Ndiaye, Monaco’s Lamine Camara, and Bayern Münich’s Nicolas Jackson are all 27 or younger. The youngsters led the charge against Botswana, with Jackson netting twice and Ismaila Sarr providing one of the assists, but Mané had a team-high six shots on target. Mané’s six shots on target were among 17 for the Lions of Teranga, while the Zebras didn’t test Edouard Mendy at all. That shouldn’t be a problem for Mendy, though, who has proven his class with both club and country time and time again. He allowed just three goals during World Cup qualifying.
Still, perhaps more than any team, the Lions of Teranga know not to underestimate DR Congo. The Leopards are stacked with talent, and though their best player, Newcastle’s Yoane Wissa, was left out of the squad as he recovers from an injury, Real Betis striker Cédric Bakambu actually led the team in goals during World Cup qualifying and Spartak Moscow’s Theo Bongonda contributed three of his own. They also have two of Africa’s more valuable defensive midfield prospects in 21-year-old Noah Sidiki, who’s helped newly-promoted Sunderland to a surprising sixth in the Premier League, and 21-year-old Lille midfielder Ngal’ayel Mukau, who provided an assist during the qualifier campaign. DR Congo has a nice mix of youngsters and veterans: Sidiki played all 90 minutes in the win against Benin and drew four fouls, while West Ham’s Aaron Wan-Bissaka was stellar as a wing-back and Lille’s Chancel Mbemba registered an interception. Goalie Lionel Mpasi, the hero in the Leopards’ win over Nigeria to advance to the World Cup playoffs, saved both of the shots he faced. All in all, DR Congo allowed no more than one goal in all but one of its World Cup qualifying games.
Of course, that lone exception came against Senegal, when it lost 3-2 in Kinshasa, but it had previously managed a 1-1 draw in Dakar, so despite the strength of the Lions of Teranga’s attack, the Leopards should feel pretty confident in their defense. On the other hand, they never scored more than two goals against any team besides woeful South Sudan, and now they’re missing their best attacker in Wissa. DR Congo’s defense should keep things from getting out of hand, but I’ll back Senegal’s elite front three to find a way through in the end.
