FIFA WC 2026: Senegal misses its debut against France

A solid first period

Senegal put on a conquering face and played uninhibited in the first half, securing the best chances against France. After a quarter of an hour to counter the French attacks, the Lions had their highlight from the 20th minute of play. Precisely in this momentum, Nicolas Jackson will touch the amount of Mike Maignan in the 25th minute of play, causing a first thrill in this encounter.

Senegal continued to put the squeeze on France, who failed to land a shot in the first 45 minutes. Better still, the Lions could have opened the scoring if Ismaila Sarr had adjusted his foot properly, alone against the post in added time (45+6).

Lions are punished in the second half

The second period was more complicated for Senegal, with Les Bleus, reigning vice-champions, returning with a much better face. And it was Edouard Mendy who delayed the deadline several times.

First in the 53rd on a cross-kick from Michael Olise and then four minutes later against Kylian Mbappé (57th). The pressure was increasing on the Senegalese defense to such an extent that Sadio Mané had to fall back to the penalty area to tackle the captain of the Blue team at 58th, causing a big scare. But after watching the VAR, the referee decided not to call a penalty.

Senegal was saved but continued to suffer while counting on a huge Edouard Mendy, still author of a beautiful exit on Mbappé at the 64th. But the goalkeeper of Al-Ahli was powerless two minutes later on the cross shot from Madrid (66') who opened the scoring for his team.

Ibrahim Mbaye, the short-lived hope

Senegal will still react quickly with an equalizer in the 68th minute of Nicolas Jackson. Except that it will unfortunately be flagged in an irregular position. Enough to restore confidence to the Blues who broke into the 82nd thanks to Bradley Barcola.

This is where the young Ibrahim Mbaye showed his talent, answering his Parisian teammate with a powerful shot to beat Maignan (90+5) to bring hope back in the Senegalese ranks. But it was short-lived since Mbappé, again surprised him Edouard Mendy on a distant shot (90+6) and definitively seal the success for France.

For Senegal, it will be necessary to quickly learn the lessons of this defeat and prepare the match against Norway on Tuesday, June 23 (2h GMT).