Senegal have played in seventeen editions of the Africa Cup of Nations.
Historically, Senegal was seen as a weaker side in the strong West African region. Although they finished in fourth place in two AFCON editions,[1] Senegalese performance was overall still deemed as poor. Senegal remained under the shadow of much more successful West African giants Nigeria, Ivory Coast and Ghana for the majority of the 20th century.
In the 2000s, Senegal began to surge and became a more competitive opponent in the Africa Cup of Nations. Following a successful FIFA World Cup debut in 2002, in which the side reached the quarter-finals, Senegal officially established itself as a new powerhouse in Africa. The 2002 Africa Cup of Nations tournament marked the best ever result in Senegalese football history, with the team falling to Cameroon 2–3 on penalties after a goalless draw in the final.[2] Senegal once again finished as runners-up in 2019, losing the final 0–1 to Algeria.[3] The nation finally won their first AFCON title in 2021, defeating Egypt on penalties in the final.[4] [5]
| Africa Cup of Nations record | |||||||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Year | Round | Position | |||||||
 1957 | Did not enter | ||||||||
| 1959 | |||||||||
 1962 | |||||||||
 1963 | |||||||||
 1965 | Fourth place | 4th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 2 | |
| 1968 | Group stage | 5th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 5 | 5 | |
| 1970 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
 1972 | |||||||||
 1974 | |||||||||
| 1976 | |||||||||
| 1978 | |||||||||
 1980 | Did not enter | ||||||||
 1982 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 1984 | |||||||||
| 1986 | Group stage | 5th | 3 | 2 | 0 | 1 | 3 | 1 | |
 1988 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
 1990 | Fourth place | 4th | 5 | 1 | 2 | 2 | 3 | 3 | |
 1992 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 4 | 3 | |
| 1994 | Quarter-finals | 8th | 3 | 1 | 0 | 2 | 2 | 3 | |
 1996 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
 1998 | |||||||||
| 2000 | Quarter-finals | 7th | 4 | 1 | 1 | 2 | 6 | 6 | |
 2002 | Runners-up | 2nd | 6 | 4 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 1 | |
| 2004 | Quarter-finals | 6th | 4 | 1 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 2 | |
| 2006 | Fourth place | 4th | 6 | 2 | 0 | 4 | 7 | 8 | |
| 2008 | Group stage | 12th | 3 | 0 | 2 | 1 | 4 | 6 | |
 2010 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
  2012 | Group stage | 13th | 3 | 0 | 0 | 3 | 3 | 6 | |
| 2013 | Did not qualify | ||||||||
| 2015 | Group stage | 9th | 3 | 1 | 1 | 1 | 3 | 4 | |
| 2017 | Quarter-finals | 5th | 4 | 2 | 2 | 0 | 6 | 2 | |
| 2019 | Runners-up | 2nd | 7 | 5 | 0 | 2 | 8 | 2 | |
| 2021 | Champions | 1st | 7 | 5 | 2 | 0 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2023 | Round of 16 | 9th | 4 | 3 | 1 | 0 | 9 | 2 | |
| 2025 | To be determined | ||||||||
  2027 | |||||||||
| Total | 1 Title | 17/34 | 71 | 30 | 18 | 23 | 87 | 58 | |
| width=2% | Tournament! | Date | Location | Round | Opponent | Score | Senegal scorers |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| 14 November 1965 | Group stage | 0–0 | |||||
| 19 November 1965 | 5–1 | Louis Camara (x2), El Hadji Oumar Guèye, Matar Niang (x2) | |||||
| 21 November 1965 | Third place | 0–1 | |||||
| 12 January 1968 | Group stage | 2–2 | Doudou Diongue, Yatma Diop | ||||
| 14 January 1968 | 2–1 | Yatma Diop, Yatma Diouck | |||||
| 16 January 1968 | 1–2 | Yatma Diouck | |||||
| 7 March 1986 | Group stage | 1–0 | Thierno Youm | ||||
| 10 March 1986 | 2–0 | Pape Fall, Jules Bocandé | |||||
| 13 March 1986 | 0–1 | ||||||
| 3 March 1990 | Group stage | 0–0 | |||||
| 6 March 1990 | 2–0 | Mamadou Diallo, Moussa N'Dao | |||||
| 9 March 1990 | 0–0 | ||||||
| 12 March 1990 | Semi-finals | 1–2 | |||||
| 15 March 1990 | Third place | 0–1 | |||||
| 12 January 1992 | Group stage | 1–2 | Jules Bocandé | ||||
| 16 January 1992 | 3–0 | Souleymane Sané, Jules Bocandé, Victor Diagne | |||||
| 19 January 1992 | Quarter-finals | 0–1 | |||||
| 29 March 1994 | Group stage | 2–1 | Momath Gueye, Athanas Tendeng | ||||
| 31 March 1994 | 0–1 | ||||||
| 3 April 1994 | Quarter-finals | 0–1 | |||||
| 25 January 2000 | Group stage | 3–1 | Henri Camara, Pape Sarr, Salif Keita | ||||
| 28 January 2000 | 0–1 | ||||||
| 2 February 2000 | 2–2 | Henri Camara, Abdoulaye M'Baye | |||||
| 7 February 2000 | Quarter-finals | 1–2 | Khalilou Fadiga | ||||
| 20 January 2002 | Group stage | 1–0 | Lamine Diatta | ||||
| 26 January 2002 | 1–0 | Souleymane Camara | |||||
| 31 January 2002 | 0–0 | ||||||
| 4 February 2002 | Quarter-finals | 2–0 | Salif Diao, El Hadji Diouf | ||||
| 7 February 2002 | Semi-finals | 2–1 | Papa Bouba Diop, Salif Diao | ||||
| 10 February 2002 | 0–0 | ||||||
| 26 January 2004 | Group stage | 0–0 | |||||
| 30 January 2004 | 3–0 | Mamadou Niang (x2), Papa Bouba Diop | |||||
| 2 February 2004 | 1–1 | Habib Beye | |||||
| 7 February 2004 | Quarter-finals | 0–1 | |||||
| 23 January 2006 | Group stage | 2–0 | Henri Camara, Issa Ba | ||||
| 27 January 2006 | 0–1 | ||||||
| 31 January 2006 | 1–2 | Souleymane Camara | |||||
| 3 February 2006 | Quarter-finals | 3–2 | Papa Bouba Diop, Mamadou Niang, Henri Camara | ||||
| 7 February 2006 | Semi-finals | 1–2 | Mamadou Niang | ||||
| 9 February 2006 | Third place | 0–1 | |||||
| 23 January 2008 | Group stage | 2–2 | Moustapha Bayal Sall, Diomansy Kamara | ||||
| 27 January 2008 | 1–3 | Abdoulaye Faye | |||||
| 31 January 2008 | 1–1 | Henri Camara | |||||
| 21 January 2012 | Group stage | 1–2 | Dame N'Doye | ||||
| 25 January 2012 | 1–2 | Moussa Sow | |||||
| 29 January 2012 | 1–2 | Deme N'Diaye | |||||
| 19 January 2015 | Group stage | 2–1 | Mame Biram Diouf, Moussa Sow | ||||
| 23 January 2015 | 1–1 | Kara Mbodji | |||||
| 27 January 2015 | 0–2 | ||||||
| 15 January 2017 | Group stage | 2–0 | Sadio Mané, Kara Mbodji | ||||
| 19 January 2017 | 2–0 | Sadio Mané, Henri Saivet | |||||
| 23 January 2017 | 2–2 | Papakouli Diop, Moussa Sow | |||||
| 28 January 2017 | Quarter-finals | 0–0 | |||||
| 23 June 2019 | Group stage | 2–0 | Keita Baldé, Krépin Diatta | ||||
| 27 June 2019 | 0–1 | ||||||
| 1 July 2019 | 3–0 | Ismaïla Sarr, Sadio Mané (x2) | |||||
| 5 July 2019 | Round of 16 | 1–0 | Sadio Mané | ||||
| 10 July 2019 | Quarter-finals | 1–0 | Idrissa Gueye | ||||
| 14 July 2019 | Semi-finals | 1–0 | |||||
| 19 July 2019 | 0–1 | ||||||
| 10 January 2022 | Group stage | 1–0 | |||||
| 14 January 2022 | 0–0 | ||||||
| 18 January 2022 | 0–0 | ||||||
| 25 January 2022 | Round of 16 | 2–0 | Sadio Mané, Bamba Dieng | ||||
| 30 January 2022 | Quarter-finals | 3–1 | Famara Diédhiou, Cheikhou Kouyaté, Ismaïla Sarr | ||||
| 2 February 2022 | Semi-finals | 3–1 | Abdou Diallo, Idrissa Gueye, Sadio Mané | ||||
| 6 February 2022 | 0–0 | ||||||
| 15 January 2024 | Group stage | 3–0 | Pape Gueye, Lamine Camara (x2) | ||||
| 19 January 2024 | 3–1 | Ismaïla Sarr, Habib Diallo, Sadio Mané | |||||
| 23 January 2024 | 2–0 | Abdoulaye Seck, Iliman Ndiaye | |||||
| 29 January 2024 | Round of 16 | 1–1 | Habib Diallo |