Senegal coach Aliou Cisse has revealed his team’s main target at the 2022 FIFA World Cup.

The Lions of Teranga will make their third appearance at the tournament after featuring in the 2002 and 2018 editions.

The African champions enjoyed their best campaign on their debut, reaching the quarterfinals, but couldn’t make it past the group stage in the 2018 World Cup.

In his preview of the upcoming World Cup on FIFA.com, Cisse revealed they are aiming to go beyond the group stages.

He said: “We’re not getting carried away (by being the highest-ranked African team). It’s up to us to fully prepare ourselves and to do so wisely.

“But our aim is still the same: to take it a game at a time. We were knocked out of the last World Cup after just three games.

“The aim is to get out of this group. And, once we get out of this group, we know that it will be a knockout tournament. We will leave our mark. People are already looking ahead to the last 16, the quarter-finals, but we will be taking it a game at a time.”

Senegal are in Group A along with Netherlands, Qatar and Ecuador. They will start their campaign against the Dutch side on 21 November.

Cisse has until Monday, November 14 to select his final 26-man roster for Qatar.

The selection is expected to be packed with stars from top leagues such as the EPL, La Liga, Serie A, German Bundesliga and Ligue 1.

“We will try to make sure everyone is singing from the same hymn sheet; a balanced group who get on well,” said the coach, revealing his selection criteria. “It’s also important to give Senegal the greatest chance of success at the World Cup.

“I’m delighted to say that I’ve got plenty of options to choose from. I will sit down with all my coaching staff to decide who we will be taking to the World Cup. But in truth, all the players I’ve used before deserve to be there. I will make some players happy, and others unhappy, but it’s a decision [that has to be made].”