France national team forward Kylian Mbappe has labelled Senegal ‘a great team’ as the two nations prepare to face off in their 2026 FIFA World Cup opener at New York New Jersey Stadium on Tuesday, June 16th.
Ahead of the Group I contest, Lions of Teranga and Les Bleus have played each other only once in FIFA World Cup history. In the opening match of the 2002 tournament in South Korea, tournament debutants Senegal shocked the defending champions France with a famous 1-0 victory.
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The late Senegal midfielder Papa Bouba Diop scored the only goal of the game in the 30th minute, bundling the ball over the line from close range following a scramble in the penalty box.
The outcome remains one of the greatest upsets in football history, and it set the tone for a disastrous tournament for France, who were eliminated in the group stage without scoring a single goal.
Meanwhile, Senegal went on a Cinderella run, reaching the quarter-finals.
History will make the game exciting
“The World Cup is full of exciting matches, we’re playing against the African champions, I don’t even know if it’s them or not (laughs) since Morocco is also playing. We’ll stay out of that (laughs),” the Real Madrid star told French television channel M6 as quoted by Wiw Sports.
“It’s great to start like this. We can’t deny that there’s a history between France and Senegal, so there’s a history that will make this match something more exciting. It’s going to be great.
“The match is at 9pm in France, the children won’t be in bed yet, so it’s up to us to start well. It can allow us to dispel any initial doubts because there will be anxiety among quite a few people, not among us, but among some. It will also give us those 3 points.”
France are a global powerhouse, who won the tournament in 1998 and 2018, while reaching the final in 2006 and 2022, while Senegal have established themselves as one of Africa’s top teams, qualifying for four World Cups (2002, 2018, 2022, and 2026).
Senegal have the potential to reach the semis
Meanwhile, former Senegal coach Alain Giresse has backed the Lions of Teranga to at least go past the group stages of the global showpiece.
“I think that from one World Cup to the next, Africa is moving forward and progressing. As you said, it was Morocco that reached the semi-finals in the last edition in Qatar,” said Giresse.
“With ten qualified countries, the possibility of taking even more nations to the semi-finals exists; we have to take it one step at a time.
“I think that one day, an African country will play in the final. If we’re talking about Senegal, it has the potential to at least reach the semi-finals.
“Of course, we know there can be unforeseen events during matches, but intrinsically, the potential is there. We see that African teams are increasingly displaying a level that is approaching the top and the best rankings in the world.
Giresse concluded: “Beyond Senegal, Morocco, Algeria, South Africa, and even the Democratic Republic of Congo (DRC) can achieve great results. In any case, if these countries are there, it’s because they are among the best nations in Africa.”
Senegal’s best result came on their tournament debut in 2002, when they reached the quarter-finals after a famous upset over defending champions France.
Apart from France, Senegal will also face Norway on June 22nd at New York New Jersey Stadium before winding up their group stage matches against Iraq at Toronto Stadium on June 26th.
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