France’s previous meeting with Senegal is one of the World Cup’s most famous games—though if you’re a supporter of Les Bleus, it’s for all the wrong reasons. In 2002, France were expected to breeze past the then-debutants, but ended up losing 1–0 to the eventual quarterfinalists.
Senegal then failed to qualify for the next three World Cups, before returning in 2018 in Russia. It has not missed a beat since and comes into the tournament ranked number 15 in FIFA’s rankings.
France, beaten finalists in 2022 and winners in 2018, have been tipped by many to go all the way again, this time to win a third title. A blip defeat against Côte d’Ivoire pre-tournament hasn’t dampened spirits, considering Brazil and Colombia have been comfortably seen off this calendar year. A win for each is imperative given Norway, tournament dark-horses, are also in Group I.
