France come into this year's World Cup as one of the leading contenders for the trophy having reached the final in the last two editions. But their opponents on Tuesday serve as a warning of the dangers of over-confidence. Read moreWorld Cup 2026: France, Spain, Argentina – Who are the favourites? Les Bleus entered the 2002 tournament in Japan and South Korea as overwhelming favourites to retain the title they had won four years earlier. But hindered by an injury to Zinedine Zidane, they suffered a shock 1-0 loss to Senegal in Seoul and never recovered, crashing out in the group stage without scoring a goal.
Senegalese fans celebrate their team's qualification for the knockout stages in the streets of Marseille on June 11, 2002. © Boris Horvat, AFP
Didier Deschamps captained the 1998 and 2000 teams before retiring from international football, meaning he was not part of that fiasco. Almost a quarter of a century later, Deschamps is the coach nearing the end of a remarkable 14-year spell in charge – the 57-year-old will step down after the World Cup. He knows that how his superstar side approach their first game at the MetLife Stadium, with the skyscrapers of Manhattan in the distance, will be crucial. "The first match is very important but it's not decisive. Starting with a win in a four-team group is ideal and always the objective," Deschamps told reporters at the venue on Monday. "But the one thing we can't measure or quantify is the emotional aspect. Some players might tense up with the atmosphere around the match. "The ideal thing is to be focused but also relaxed," he added, describing Senegal as a "very, very high-level opponent". Read moreDebutants Cape Verde hold European champions Spain to shock draw France arrived at their base in Boston last Wednesday, fresh from a 3-1 win over Northern Ireland in their final warm-up game, in which Michael Olise scored a hat-trick. But they were handed a warning a few days earlier, when they suffered their only defeat in the last year, a 2-1 loss at home to Ivory Coast. France have reached the final in four of the last seven World Cups, winning two and also losing two more on penalties. Champions in Russia in 2018, they were denied by Argentina in a shoot-out in Qatar in 2022. Formidable attacking armada New faces have been introduced since then, including the brilliant Olise, the London-born Bayern Munich winger set to play as a number 10. He forms part of a fearsome attacking trio, with Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembélé of Paris Saint-Germain on the right and captain Kylian Mbappé as the spearhead. The Real Madrid striker, set to win a 99th cap against Senegal, is level with Pelé as the sixth-highest goal-scorer of all time at World Cups on 12 goals. Only Miroslav Klose, the Brazilian Ronaldo, Gerd Mueller, Just Fontaine and Lionel Messi have more. Mbappé scored four in 2018 and eight in 2022, including a hat-trick in the final.
