Qatar 2022 | Superstar Sadio Mané will carry a nation’s hopes at World Cup

What are the chances of this year getting any better for Senegal superstar Sadio Mané?

Set to lead his country's Lions of Teranga at the 2022 Fifa World Cup in Qatar, Mané will no doubt be hoping the purple patch he has been enjoying continues unabated.

On Tuesday in Paris, the Senegal skipper got inches closer to becoming only the second African player after George Weah to be voted the best in the world when he finished second behind France and Real Madrid's Karim Benzema at the Ballon d'Or awards.

It was no fluke  he was rated so highly, given his impressive recent showing for English Premiership side Liverpool, who he has since left to join Bundesliga giants Bayern Munich.

He won the FA Cup and the League Cup in England before adding the DFL Super Cup to his collection on arrival in Germany.

As Senegal look to have a World Cup showing as good as, if not better than, that incredible run from 2002 when they reached the quarter finals in Korea/Japan, the entire country is looking to Mané for the feat.

With good reason too, for the 30-year-old is truly the country's talisman, Mané having played the role of both conductor and soloist for the side in their recent rise up to becoming Africa's best footballing nation.

It was through the exploits of the versatile winger, who is just as adept at fulfilling a centre forward role to being a defensive midfielder, that Senegal captured their maiden Africa Cup of Nations title last year.

Mané was imperious as his country marched to the final, where they defeated Egypt via a shoot-out from the penalty spot, the man who was rewarded with the maiden Socrates Award at the Ballon d'Or for his incredible humanitarian work in Senegal converting the winning kick.

He again stepped up to do the same honours when they beat Egypt in a play-off for a place at the World Cup where the hosts, Ecuador and the Netherlands, await them.

If Senegal are to progress to the knockout stage, Mané will have to be the Mané who used to light up Anfield and who now shines for Bayern.

A prolific scorer who is now the country's number one with 34 goals, he will have to bring that speed, dribbling skills, creativity, superb finishing, ability to bring his teammates into play via smart and sometimes beguiling runs in the opposition half to the party in Qatar.

That he formed a deadly attacking duo with Egyptian Mohamed Salah at Liverpool was because Mané is an intelligent player with amazing positional sense, a great eye for the gap as well as being an amazing reader of the game.

These elements, plus his knack for being able to rise high above opposition defenders despite being a mere 1.7m tall,  are what has helped him star for Senegal. They will be key to helping the Lions of Teranga get out of the group stages following that heartbreak of 2018.

In Russia four years ago, Mané and company went home after the first round due to their poor fair play record compared to that of Japan, with whom they were equal on all fronts.

They were eliminated because they had more yellow cards than the Japanese.

Mané had been impressive in his maiden appearance at the World Cup as he scored in the second group match, which they drew 2-2 against Japan.

He was influential in their opening match day 2-1 defeat of Poland, but there was not a lot he could do to stop them from losing to Colombia in the final group match.

He has grown in leaps and bounds since four years ago and the fact that he goes to the tournament as the second best player in the world should contribute immensely towards the lad from rural Bambaly dishing out displays worthy of his standing.

 If Senegal are to reach the knockout stage, it will be due to the performance of Mané no doubt.

Club: Bayern Munich

Previous clubs: Liverpool, Southampton, Red Bull Salzburg, Metz

International Caps: 93

International goals: 34

Previous World Cup Performance: 2018,

International Honours: 2021 Africa Cup of Nations Champion, 2019 Africa Cup of Nations runner-up

Club Honours: 2013Austrian Bundesliga, 2013-14 Austrian  Cup; 2019-20 English Premier League; 2021-22 FA Cup; 2021-22 English League Cup; 2017-18 & 2021-22 UEFA Champions league runner-up; 2018-19 UEFA Champions League winner  2019 FIFA Club World Cup; 2022 DFL Supercup

Individual Honours: 2018-19 English Premiership Golden Boot; 2019 Ballon d'Or fourth place; 2022 Ballon d'Or runner-up; 2019 and 2022 African Footballer of the Year: 2021 African Cup of Nations Player of the Tournament; 2022 Socrates Award; Liverpool Fans' Player of the Season Award 2016-17; PFA Fans' Player of the Year 2019-20

World Cup finals stats: 3 matches 1 goal