Very poor in the first half, improved in the second, France started the 2026 World Cup with a win, beating Senegal 3-1 in the opening game of Group 9 of the competition.
In front of 80,745 spectators in New Jersey, the Africans showed they could pull off a 2002 miracle when they defeated the French in the opening match of that tournament. They dominated the first 45 minutes and missed great opportunities with Jackson “marking” the post in the 30′ and Sarr missing from the height of the small area at the end of the half (45+6′).
The continuation, however, belonged to the “tricolors”. Kylian Mbappe opened the scoring from an assist by the top Olisse in the 66th minute. Bradley Barcola “sealed” the victory in the 82nd minute, scoring on his debut in a World Cup match, just two minutes after entering the match. The 18-year-old Baghet reduced for Senegal in the 5th minute of stoppage time, while with the cross, Bappé made the final 3-1 and made history as the top scorer in the history of the French national team with 58 goals, passing Olivier Giroud.
The compositions of the two teams:
FRANCE (Didier Deschamps): Menian, Koute, Konate, Saliba, Hernandez, Tswameni, Rabiot, Olisse, Dembele (80′ Barcola), Bape, Dua (87′ Cerki)
SENEGAL (Pape Tio): Mendy, Diatta, Koulibaly, Niacate, Diouf, Idrissa Gueye (88′ Sis), Kamara (76′ Diarra), Pape Gueye (83′ Iliman), Ismaila Sarr (76′ Baget), Jackson (83′ Dieng), Mane
Referee: Alireza Faghani (Iran)