France 3-1 Senegal
France kicked off their World Cup 2026 campaign with a 3-1 win over Senegal at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, to make a serious point at the early stage of the campaign.
Brazil failed to win their first game and Spain failed to win their first game but, after a lacklustre first 45 minutes Les Bleus came alive and ripped apart the Lions of Teranga. Following a goalless first half France set to work and Kylian Mbappe broke the deadlock before Bradley Barcola made the points safe. Ibrahim Mbaye scored a consolation deep into injury time bey then Mbappe scored a screamer to grab the attention away from the young Lion.
France boss Didier Deschamps has confirmed he will leave his post after the end of the tournament and the World Cup 2026 betting odds say he might just leave with his second world title as boss. This performance, certainly in the second half, will make Les Bleus fans believe they are the team to beat.
Highlights of the game
Senegal came to this game in an angry mood after they were stripped of their 2025 AFCON title and they were snapping into their tackles in the early stages to unsettle any flow France were hoping to develop. And when France did cut through Mbappe’s touch let him down twice, and the Lions of Teranga were counting their lucky stars. But some of Les Bleus’ passing and movement was so quick the Senegal backline was working very hard.
It was the Lions though who almost broke the deadlock, on 24 minutes when another poor touch from Mbappe handed over possession and Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson outpaced the France defence before unleashing a powerful shot which hit the post, bounced back off Mike Maignan and away to safety. And as the half wore on it was the African side which looked more together and threatening in attack, and in the last action of the half they cut through the France defence, but Ismaila Sarr fired over from ten yards with the goal at his mercy.
Les Bleus looked much brighter at the start of the second half and when Micheal Olise ghosted through the Senegal defence keeper Edouard Mendy saved well to keep the scores level. It seemed like Deschamps had flicked the switch on and moments later Mendy had to stick out a leg to save from the onrushing Mbappe. And then, when the Real Madrid man flew into the penalty are on the right Sadio Mane just caught Mbappe’s trailing leg, but after a lengthy VAR review the ref said the attacking player had initiated the contact.
Well done him I say. The ref may have got it wrong and France were furious but, in my view, if players looking for penalties who ‘get a touch’ don’t always see the decision they want… then maybe we might see more positive football.
Mbappe can be infuriating at times but he’s also one of the best players on the planet and when Olise slid through a perfect ball he swivelled and slid a clinical shot beyond Mendy and into the net. The France fans were still celebrating when Jackson hammered the ball into the net, but he was offside and the score remained 1-0. And moments later it was 2-0 when Adrien Rabiot weighted a brilliant pass through the Senegal defence, Barcola picked it up and lifted it over Mendy and into the net.
Mbaye announced himself on the world stage in injury time with a superb finish but then, 30 seconds later Mbappe hit a screamer from all of 25 yards.
Key statistics
Senegal manager Pape Thiaw said he wouldn’t be in the USA if he didn’t think the Lions of Teranga could win the World Cup and, in the first half they were the better side against the 2018 World Champions, with Jackson and Sarr having the best chances. The half time stats told the story with Les Bleus having more possession but Senegal winning the shot count by five to one, and one to nil on target.
The second half saw a real turnaround and France ended up with 11 shots to six, eight to two on target and, crucially, three goals to one.
Mbappe’s strikes took him ahead of France’s all time top scorer Olivier Giroud, and he now has 58 international goals.
What’s next?
There have been some surprising World Cup 2026 results already, not least Cape Verde’s draw with tournament favourites Spain on Monday night, but France showed how good they can be against a strong Senegal side.
In the other Group I clash, Iraq face Norway on Tuesday night and then, on Monday 22nd Les Bleus will take on Iraq while Senegal will face Norway. At that point Didier Deschamps will hope the job is done and they can look forward to the knockouts. In the meantime the action is coming thick and fast and 2022 Champions Argentina will kick off their defence against Algeria on Wednesday, while England start their latest tilt at the world title with a serious test against Croatia; my SBOTOP mate James will be reporting on the Three Lions and we both have everything crossed for a happy start!
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