France - Senegal: score, highlights and statistics

France face Senegal in the opening match of Group I at the 2026 FIFA World Cup - their first meeting since the most famous upset in World Cup history, when a Senegalese side knocked out the reigning champions 24 years ago.

Match Info: France vs Senegal

France vs Senegal kicks off on Tuesday, 16 June 2026 at 20:00 BST at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, as the opening fixture of Group I at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Where to Watch France vs Senegal?

In the United States, the match is available on FOX and Telemundo on television, with additional streaming options via Peacock, Fubo TV, Foxsports.com, Telemundo Deportes En Vivo, and the Spanish-language radio service Futbol de Primera Radio.

Canadian fans can stream the match on TSN+, while Australian audiences have access via SBS On Demand, and New Zealand viewers can watch on TVNZ+.

Elsewhere around the world, the match is broadcast on DIRECTV Sports Argentina and in streaming on DIRECTV GO in Argentina, CazéTV in Brazil, DAZN España in Spain, DAZN Italia in Italy, and beIN SPORTS CONNECT F.R. plus 6play in France. Mexican fans can watch on VIX.

France vs Senegal - Match Preview

France, two-time world champions and 2022 runners-up ranked third in the world, open their 2026 campaign against Senegal - the only team in history to have eliminated them at a FIFA World Cup.

The date is June 16, the stage is MetLife Stadium, and the weight of history hangs over every minute of this Group I opener. In 2002, Senegal produced one of the sport's all-time shocks, beating the defending champions France 1-0 with a Papa Bouba Diop goal and sending them home in the group stage. The two sides have not met since. Every player on the pitch on June 16 will be writing the next chapter of that story for the first time.

France arrive with extraordinary depth. Coach Didier Deschamps, who has confirmed this is his final tournament, leads a squad built around Kylian Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise, with Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot anchoring midfield. Senegal come with their own layer of motivation: the Sadio Mané-led team won AFCON 2025 against Morocco but had the title stripped by CAF on appeal after a protest walkout in the final. The case is before the Court of Arbitration for Sport. Coach Pape Thiaw carried the trophy onto the Stade de France pitch against Peru in March as a statement of defiance, and that same spirit arrives in New Jersey.

Head-to-Head: France vs Senegal

France and Senegal have met only once in their entire footballing history - and that single encounter produced one of the World Cup's most celebrated upsets, a result whose shadow still looms over this fixture 24 years later.

The one confirmed head-to-head match between France and Senegal:

• 31 May 2002 - FIFA World Cup, Group Stage - France 0:1 Senegal (goal: Papa Bouba Diop)

France - Recent Form

France arrive at the 2026 World Cup having won 4 of their last 5 matches, drawing the other, scoring 14 goals and conceding 5 - an unbeaten run that underlines their status as tournament favorites.

The March 2026 window on American soil was the clearest statement of intent. On March 26, France beat Brazil 2-1 at Gillette Stadium - Mbappé opened the scoring after a Dembélé through ball, Hugo Ekitike doubled the lead, and France held on with ten men. Three days later, a rotated side beat Colombia 3-1, with Désir Doué scoring twice and Marcus Thuram adding a header. The message was impossible to ignore: France are not just deep, they are stacked with match-winning quality at every position.

Prior to those two results, France beat Azerbaijan 3-1 away and dismantled Ukraine 4-0 at home in November 2025, with only a 2-2 draw in Iceland in October 2025 interrupting an otherwise dominant run. Deschamps has a settled XI built around a 4-2-3-1. The only meaningful concern is a defense that conceded in 4 of the last 5 matches and kept just 1 clean sheet in that period.

Senegal - Recent Form

Senegal head into the 2026 World Cup with 3 wins and 2 losses in their last 5 matches - a record that reflects both genuine quality and the turbulence that has surrounded the team since the AFCON controversy of early 2026.

The most telling recent result was a composed 2-0 win over Peru on March 28 at the Stade de France, with the AFCON trophy on the touchline as a deliberate statement. Earlier, Senegal beat Egypt 1-0 and Gambia 3-1, demonstrating the attacking variety that Nicolas Jackson, Sadio Mané and Iliman Ndiaye bring. The 0-3 loss to Morocco in January 2026 came during the chaotic AFCON final - a match in which Mendy saved a crucial penalty, Pape Gueye scored in extra time, and Senegal celebrated a title that was subsequently stripped by CAF on appeal.

The most recent result, a 2-3 defeat to the United States on May 31, 2026, came in a pre-tournament warm-up and does not fundamentally alter the picture of a Senegalese squad that is experienced, athletic, and motivated. Kalidou Koulibaly at 35 remains the anchor of the defense. Mané enters what may be his final major tournament as captain. If Senegal are to spring a second consecutive World Cup upset over France, the ingredients are certainly present.

Facts and Statistics

5 key statistics about the France vs Senegal rivalry:

• France and Senegal have faced each other just once in official competition - Senegal won 1-0 at the 2002 World Cup, eliminating the defending world champions in the group stage.
• France are two-time world champions (1998, 2018) and reached the final in 2022, making them one of only 3 nations to appear in 3 World Cup finals in the last 28 years.
• The 2026 tournament is Senegal's 4th FIFA World Cup - their best finish remains the quarterfinals in 2002, the same tournament in which they beat France.
• France scored 14 goals across their last 5 matches, an average of 2.8 goals per game heading into the tournament.
• MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, the venue for this match, is also scheduled to host the 2026 FIFA World Cup Final on July 19.