At 39, Lamine Sane, head coach of the Young Lions of Teranga, reigning U17 African champions, is targeting the world title in Qatar. A former player at Bordeaux, Werder Bremen, Orlando City and Utrecht, he now leads the Senegalese national team.
Senegal, reigning U17 African champions, are competing in Group F of the U17 World Cup in Qatar against Croatia, Cuba and Tajikistan. Crowned at the U17 AFCON in June 2026, Lamine Sane’s team approach this world tournament with a stated objective: the title.
Lamine Sane, 39, won the U17 AFCON in his first major tournament as head coach of the Young Lions of Teranga. He joined the national team’s staff in 2025 in an advisory role before becoming its head coach.
An ambitious man who owns his intentions
“I’m not going to hide my ambition. Every time I prepare my team for a tournament, I do it with the intention of going there to win. We want to live up to our status as African champions,” Lamine Sane told FIFA.com. Comments translated from English.
A playing career spanning France, Germany, the United States and the Netherlands
Lamine Sane made his professional debut in the Champions League with Bordeaux against Bayern Munich in 2009, under Laurent Blanc, coming up against Arjen Robben.
His career then took him to Werder Bremen, Orlando City and Utrecht. He won 35 caps for Senegal.
A move into coaching that was far from inevitable
Coaching, however, was not an obvious path. “I was 28 and still at Bordeaux when my coach, Willy Sagnol, told me he could really see me coaching at the end of my career. I replied: ‘Me? A coach? Never!’ It simply wasn’t for me. Too much responsibility. And then look at what happened,” he told FIFA.com.
He began his coaching career at US Lormont, the club where he was trained, before a spell at Bourges, of which Sadio Mané is the main shareholder.