Now is time to talk about the Senegal national team, an old acquaintance of our team.
SENEGAL
- Name as written in its native language: Mungakko, Sénégal
- Languages: French; Wolof
- Capital: Dakar
- Currency: CFA franc (BRL 0.0078 – exchange rate on 09/22/2022)
- Main soccer player: Sadio Mané
- Typical dish: Thieboudienne
Curiosities
Senegal’s national team is one of the teams that may take us by surprise in this World Cup. It´s best participation was in 2002, when it defeated France, which was the world champion back then, in the kick-off match of that edition and got to quarter-finals, being eliminated by Turkey only in extra time.
The country’s main economic activity is agriculture, especially peanuts, beans, cassava, watermelon, corn, and rice.
Senegal’s official language is French, but curiously, it is only spoken by the minority of the population, those who studied in French schools from the colonial period. Most of Senegal’s inhabitants speak their own ethnic language, which may vary according to the region. In Dakar, for instance, Wolof is the language normally used and understood by most of the population. There are also other languages spoken in Senegal, such as Pulaar, Serer, the Cangin languages, and Jola languages. In the midst of so many languages, it is only natural that there is a huge number of translators in Senegal.
Another curiosity involving Senegal is that it is the cradle of the world’s most famous rally, the Dakar Rally, which started as a route from Paris to Dakar in its first edition, but had its route changed over the course of its editions, maintaining the same name, even though today it doesn’t pass by Dakar anymore.
Senegal’s cuisine is also extremely rich, especially in terms of fish and seafood dishes, and the most prominent one is Thieboudienne, which can be translated as rice of fish, made of fish marinated in parsley, lemon, garlic, and onion. These ingredients are fried and then cooked with tomatoes and tomato sauce. Then, the ingredients are taken out of the pot, and the rice is also cooked in this broth and served with the vegetables and fish.
On the pitch, the world-famous Sadio Mané leads the Senegalese team. The striker stood out during his time in Liverpool, being one of the main players in the Premier League and Champions League titles campaigns, as well as world champion with the English club. In the last transfer window, after settling his transfer to Bayern Munich, Liverpool received 32 million euros (BRL 172 million) and Mané became one of the highest paid players of the German team, winning 19.8 million euros per season.
Senegal is expected to win the second place of its group, and we will see if this African team will be able to go further in this cup.
This was Eko’s in the World Cup – Senegal. If you liked this, follow us on our social media (Instagram: @ekostraducoes / LinkedIn: ekostraducoes) and come back tomorrow, because we will be talking about Netherlands.
