Joint favourites for winning the tournament, France, are looking to get off to the best possible start when they face Senegal in the opening match of Group I.
But they have bad memories of these opponents at World Cups and will have all of the pressure in the world on their shoulders. Here’s what you need to know ahead of this important match.
No Tuesday Night Blues for Les Bleus
At the 2002 event, France went into their opening Group Match against Senegal as the defending champions after winning on home soil, only to be stunned by a goal from the late Pape Bouba Diop after 30 minutes as the Lions of Teranga ran out 1-0 winners.
It was the only time these two had ever faced each other.
- Key Stat: France has scored two or more goals in 12 of their last 13 matches.
- Best Bet: France to win and over 1.5 goals
- Odds: 1.73 (at the moment of writing)
France ticks every box, and Senegal will have plenty of hard work ahead of them on Tuesday night. If they manage to deal with that fantastic trio from France for the first 60 minutes or so, there’s plenty more of that attacking talent coming off the bench, too.
That 2002 Senegal win won’t be quickly forgotten, but this is 24 years on from that, and Mbappe and co should hit the ground running, taking all three points and keeping up the trend of scoring at least twice in the game.
France
The 2018 champions boast one of the strongest attacks in the competition with Ousmane Dembele, Kylian Mbappe and Michael Oliseh just three of the star names in it with plenty more on the bench.
There’s strength and experience in that midfield, and all in all, they have one of the deepest squads and best-drilled sides here, so they’re not a side anyone will want to face.
- Player to watch: Michael Olise – 2.88 to assist / 2.88 to score anytime.
Senegal
Senegal went through World Cup qualifying undefeated and were winners of the 2026 AFCON after a shock 1-0 win in the final against Morocco. Or were they?
Their win was overturned on appeal after Senegal’s players walked off the pitch after a late, controversial penalty was awarded to Morocco, and the latter were deemed the eventual winners.
But their win on the pitch rather than in the courtroom showed what a dangerous side they can be, also backed up by their excellent World Cup qualifying campaign.
- Player to watch: Sadio Mane - 5.0 to score anytime / 5.0 to have 2 or more shots on target
