Stadium: New Jersey Stadium
Date: Tuesday , June 16
Kick-off Time: 8 p.m. BST
Match Preview
France begin their world cup campaign on Tuesday evening as second favourites to lift the trophy just behind Spain who dissappointed in a 0-0 draw with Cape Verde.
“Les Bleu” have a tremondous record in World Cups having won the Competition in 1998 and 2018 but they have appeared in the Final in four of the last seven tournaments, no other nation come close to matching that consistency.
Didier Deschamps is one of a select few to win the world cup as both player & manager and he enters this competition knowing it will be his final Tournament as coach as he hands over to Zinedine Zidane at its conclusion.
Deschamps will be aiming to break a long standing record for the most wins as a coach at the world cup, currently Helmut Schon has 16 with Deschamps on 14, 3 wins will beat the record.
France breezed through Qualifying winning five of the six qualifiers and only dropping points ina 2-2 draw in Iceland. Form heading into the Torunament hasn’t been ideal, they were beaten 2-1 by Ivory Coast in early June but did follow up with a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland.
Senegal came through CAF qualifying without losing a match, winning seven times and drawing three, finishing above DR Congo in group B.
This will be a third successive world cup appearance for “The Lions of Teranga ” but they havnt really performed on the big stage being eliminated in the Group Stages in 2018 and losing in the Last 16 in 2022.
Senegal were crowned African champions in 2026 following a 1-0 win over hosts Morocco only to be stripped of the title later in the year in what was a farcical turn of events.
Pape Thiaw is the man in charge of Senegal but he must be slightly concerned with the form leading into this Group opener, they were beaten 3-2 by co-hosts USA and laboured to a 0-0 draw with Saudi Arabia.
Senegal will be hoping to repeat one of the greatest upsets in world cup history when they beat then wolrd champions France 1-0 in the 2002 opener in Seoul.
Team News France
Didier Deschamps will be able to call on the services of Arsenal defender William Saliba despite reports that he may miss the Tournament following the champions league final. Saliba has trained in he build up and is expected to start.
Fellow defender Jules Koude is also set to feature in New Jersey following a muscle strain.
Michael Olise has had a steller season at Bayern Munich and he will be hoping to bring his club form to the International stage alongside Desire Doue, Ousmane Dembele and Kylian Mbappe in a frightening looking attack.
Mbappe heads into this world cup with 58 goals for France and sits just one behind record holder Olivier Giroud, the Real Madrid man will be confident he will leave this tournament as his countrys all time top scorer.
Team News Senegal
Pape Thiaw has a few injury issues to contend with ahead of the game in New Jersey with Assane Diao missed training earlier this week due to a contusion, Cherif Ndiaye was absent on Saturday for unexplained reasons, and Everton veteran Idrissa Gueye did not complete the full session as a precautionary measure.
Ndiaye may have to settle for a place on the bench as Chelsea forward Nicolas Jackson will be hoping to erase the memories of his horror loan spell at Bayern Munich with a successful world cup campaign.
Form
| Team | Latest Result | Form (Last 5) |
|---|---|---|
| France | 3-1 vs Northern Ireland | W W W W L W |
| Senegal | 0-0 vs Saudi Arabia | W W W W L D |
Possible Line Ups
France (4-2-3-1)
Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Olise, Doue, Mbappe; Dembele
Senegal (4-3-3)
Mendy; Diatta, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Diouf; Camara, P. Gueye; Sarr, Diarra, Mane; Jackson
Betting Odds
| Team | Odds | Bookmaker |
|---|---|---|
France Win | 1/2 (1.50) | Grand Ivy |
| Draw | 7/2 (4.50) | Dream Vegas |
| Senegal Win | 7/1 (8.00) | 247Bet |
We Predict.....
France 2-1 Senegal
France can erase the memories of that opening day defeat to Senegal in 2002 with a victory in New Jersey