France vs Senegal
World Cup 2026 hopefuls France kick off their Group I campaign on Monday night when they face Senegal at the Lincoln Financial Field in Philadelphia
Didier Deschamps’ Bleus are one of the nations which can win the tournament, according to the early World Cup 2026 betting odds; but the 2018 World Champions come into the match on the back of a patchy preparation period, losing to the Ivory Coast before beating Northern Ireland in their final run out.
France faces a Senegal side, managed by Pape Thiaw which arrives in the USA with a huge sense of injustice in their ranks after being stripped of their 2025 African Cup of Nations title, as a punishment following their controversial walk-off in the final against Morocco. The Lions of Teranga had a goal disallowed in a mystifying decision by the ref before he awarded an even stranger penalty to the hosts in the last minute of normal time. The Senegal players walked off before returning to the pitch to see Brahim Diaz miss the spot-kick, and they went on to win in extra time.
But in an extraordinary turnaround the Confederation of African Football upheld a Moroccan appeal and Senegal forfeited the match 3-0.
So, when France line up on Monday night, the Lions of Teranga are unlikely to give them an easy ride and this could turn out to be a tasty encounter.
Talking Points
France has enough to win the title
Champions in 2018 and beaten finalists four years later Les Bleus are one of the teams to beat again this time around. Led by star striker Kylian Mbappe, who has scored 56 from 98 internationals and with the PSG trio of Bradley Barcola, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue in the attacking unit this side is full of goals.
Mbappe has enjoyed another stellar season in La Liga, despite Los Blancos losing the title again, he won the Pichichi for the second campaign in a row as well as finishing as top scorer in the Champions League. On December 20th Mbappe scored in a 2-0 win over Sevilla to equal Cristiano Ronaldo’s record of 59 goals in a calendar year and that is some company to keep. Ousmane Dembele is back to his best after recovering from injury while Barcola and Doue are both improving year on year.
Look out also for Rayan Cherki who is still only 22, playing 146 games for Lyon before switching to Man City where he had a superb second half of the campaign, while winger Michael Olise has impressed at Bayern Munich.
Veteran N’Golo Kante now at Fenerbahce, and Milan star Adrien Rabiot add experience in midfield while William Saliba partners Dayot Upamecano in the heart of defence. The Arsenal centre back is a classy ball player and a huge goal threat, while Bayern star Upamecano is fast and powerful with great recovery skills.
The competition is up and running and one of the favourites to challenge for the title, Brazil, have already dropped points in a 1-1 draw with Morocco. I’m sure France can pick up the World Cup 2026 results they need to go deep into the competition
Is this Mane’s last stand?
There are plenty of senior citizens at the World Cup this year with the likes of Ronaldo and Luke Modric playing on into their forties but I suspect this may the last appearance for Senegal’s most prolific striker who has reached the age of 34. Now playing at Al Nassr in the Saudi Pro League, former Liverpool striker Sadio Mane has scored 55 goals from 128 games for the Lions of Teranga and he will lead them into battle on Monday. The captain was instrumental in persuading his teammates to return to the pitch at the AFCON final, after a 17 minute delay so he has as much to be aggrieved about as anyone.
At the other end of his career, Paris Saint-Germain’s 18 year old wonderkid Ibrahim Mbaye has scored three goals in 11 games for the Lions. He established himself as a key part of PSG’s Ligue 1 title winning team, and has already played in the Champions League and Club World Cup; he’s a real star who can make an impact off the bench. Meanwhile Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson will hope to improve on his ratio of eight goals from 33 games, and Crystal Palace winger Ismaila Sarr, who had his late goal at the AFCON final disallowed which in part sparked the Lions’ fury, will be a terror on the wing.
History
France are looking for a third World Cup crown in 17 attempts, lifting the title in 1998 and again in 2018, while this is Senegal’s fourth appearance at the World Cup finals and they are yet to match their quarter final appearance from their debut back in 2002.
The only previous meeting between these two teams threw up a surprise in that 2002 World Cup as Senegal won 1-0 thanks to a goal from RC Lens star Pape Bouba Diop.
In terms of recent form France have won three and lost one in 2026, while Senegal have five wins, one draw and two defeats in this calendar year.
Betting Tip
France are heavily backed at SBOTOP odds of 1.45 to win this match with Senegal at 7.15 and the Draw at 4.30. For a correct score line, 2-1 to France at 7.45 has some appeal as I see two teams with real quality in the final third of the pitch.
A SHORT EXPLANATION ON HOW OUR (⭐) BETS ARE WORTH:
⭐⭐⭐= €20 (HIGHLY CONFIDENT)
⭐⭐= €10 (CONFIDENT)
⭐= €5 (SOMEWHAT CONFIDENT)
Disclaimer: Odds are correct at time of publish.
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