Kalidou Koulibaly : Hope Giver

The last time the Teranga Lions crossed the group phase of the World Cup was in 2002 when the team arrived the quarterfinals in their very first participation. Twenty years after, the team has made it to the eighth finals of the 2022 FIFA World Cup in Qatar. An achievement under the era of team captain, Kalidou Koulibaly. Apart from leading and galvanising the squad, he scored the winning goal against Ecuador in their last Group A game on November 29, 2022 that took the Teranga Lions to the round of 16.
Just moments before Koulibaly volleyed in the winning goal, Senegalese fans had carried their hands to their heads. It seemed as though Caicedo's poked finish had squeezed out all hopes and they may have begun concluding that it was another edition that they will be bundled out in the group phase. But no, captain Kalidou Koulibaly was quick in response as he pushed in the winner to reignite hopes in the Senegalese fans. The 31-year-old Chelsea defender stole in at the back post to steer in a loose.  In effect, a free kick from Idrissa Gueye bounced off an...