A winning start for Les Bleus against Senegal

Men's football•

France got their tournament off to a perfect start with a 3-1 win over Senegal in their opening group stage match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Tuesday 16 June 2026. A number of our Parisians shone in the match, including Bradley Barcola and Ibrahim Mbaye, who both scored for their respective national teams.

Finalists in the last edition of the competitionl, France haad plenty of expectation on their shoulders for their World Cup opener at MetLife Stadium in New York on Tuesday. After a rather lacklustre first half, the two sides put on a fine show in a spectacular second act. Didier Deschamps’ men were rewarded for their efforts on the hour-mark when Kylian Mbappé opened the scoring after latching onto a splendid through-ball from Michael Olise (1–0, 66’). A quarter of an hour later, it was Bradley Barcola’s turn to delight the 80,545 spectators in attendance. Played in deep by Adrien Rabiot, the Parisian winger managed to beat Edouard Mendy with a perfectly placed chip (2-0, 82').

Just as victory seemed assured, however, Senegal brought the match back to life in stoppage time thanks to a superb piece of play from Ibrahim Mbaye, whose powerful strike caught Mike Maignan off guard (2–1, 90’+5). Our Titi thus became, at 18 years and 142 days, the youngest African player to score a goal at a World Cup. The excitement was far from over, with the balance tipping back in France’s favour thanks to a moment of brilliance from Kylian Mbappé, who completed his brace with a 20-metre thunderbolt (3–1, 90'+6).

Named in the starting line-up, Désiré Doué made his World Cup debut in Tuesday's clash. The same went for Bradley Barcola, who came on as a substitute for Ousmane Dembélé in the 80th minute. Warren Zaïre-Emery and Lucas Hernandez, meanwhile, remained on the bench, whilst Ibrahim Mbaye played the final quarter-hour of the match for Senegal.

FRANCE - SENEGAL: 3-1 (0-0)

2026 FIFA World Cup – Group Stage – Matchday 1 – Group I

MetLife Stadium (New Jersey, USA)

GOALS: Mbappé (66’, 90’+6) and Barcola (82’) for France. Mbaye (90+6) for Senegal.

FRANCE: Maignan – Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernandez – Tchouaméni, Rabiot – Dembélé (Barcola, 80), Olise, Doué (Cherki, 87) – Mbappé. Coach: D. Deschamps.

SENEGAL: Mendy – Koulibaly, Diatta, Niakhaté, Diouf – I. G. Gueye (Ciss, 88'), Camara (Diarra, 75th), P. Gueye (Ndiaye, 83') - Mané, Jackson (Dieng, 83'), I. Sarr (Mbaye, 75'). Coach: P. Thiaw.