Pape Thiaw smiles when he is asked about the opening match at the World Cup in 2002. “It was historic,” says the Senegal manager, who was in the squad when they beat France, the reigning world champions, 1-0 in South Korea. Twenty-two years later, the two sides are meeting again in their first group game at a World Cup. “It will be another story – or at least we hope that it will be a different story,” says Didier Deschamps.History may not repeat itself when the teams meet in New Jersey on Tuesday but there are comparisons to be made between the two matches. Deschamps was not involved in 2002, having retired the year before. Laurent Blanc, another important player when France won the tournament on home soil in 1998, had also called time on his international career. Blanc was the rock at the heart of that defence, as Raphaël Varane was in 2018 and 2022. He is one of four key players to have retired from international football since the defeat to Argentina in the last World Cup final. Hugo Lloris, Olivier Giroud and Antoine Griezmann have also moved on.Kylian Mbappé has replaced Lloris, France’s most-capped player of all time, as captain. By Deschamps’ own admission, he is “not at all the same character and personality”. The manager says the “the baton has been passed” but the squad feels short of leaders. Mike Maignan, going into a World Cup as the No 1 for the first time, could help fill it, but there is a need for more.The question of leadership is not the only one facing Mbappé. His relationship on the pitch with Ousmane Dembélé is perhaps a bigger issue. Dembélé has never delivered his best football for the national team; lest we forget his calamitous performance in the World Cup final four years ago, when he was hooked at half-time. Dembélé’s recent Ballon d’Or win has led to a clamour for him to picked in the No 9 position – where he has thrived since his reconversion at PSG under Luis Enrique – but that spot is occupied by Mbappé at international level.When asked about Mbappé’s role as centre-forward, Deschamps’ retort is quite simple. Luis Enrique, Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa have all made the same decision at club level over the last three years. Repositioning him at this late juncture would be illogical. But Dembélé’s struggles on the right of the attack and inability to create a partnership with the France captain are feeding a national debate akin to the one in England in 2006, when there were similar concerns about the ability to fit Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard into the same team.Deschamps satiated the masses in France’s last warm-up game – a 3-1 win against Northern Ireland last week – by giving Dembélé a more central role, behind Mbappé and to the left of Michael Olise. While Olise scored a hat-trick, Dembélé’s influence was limited. The mental and physical expenditure of the Champions League final against Arsenal can serve as a mitigating circumstance. Given the forgiving nature of the group stage in the new World Cup format, Deschamps may be tempted to repeat the experiment.Roger Lemerre, the France manager in 2002, was blessed with an embarrassment of riches, but failed to find the right formula in attack. In the season leading up to the tournament, Thierry Henry had been the top scorer in the Premier League, David Trezeguet had been the top scorer in Serie A, and Djibril Cissé had been the top scorer in Ligue 1. Despite that, France failed to score a single goal, finished bottom of the group and crashed out. It remains the worst defence of the World Cup and a reminder for the current generation that the individual talent of the attacking armada is no guarantee of collective success.Papa Malick Diop celebrates after Senegal’s 1-0 win against France at the 2002 World Cup. Photograph: Lionel Cironneau/APArrogance also contributed to the failure in 2002. “We thought, and were made to believe, that we were better than we really were,” recalls Lilian Thuram. “We were living in a cocoon and thought we had already progressed through the first round and were in the final.” The defender adds that France’s performances at that tournament were “absurd” and “tragic”.Deschamps is quick to point out that he was not in the squad in 2002 and that plenty of his players had not been born. But that does not mean there are no scars or lessons to be learned. “When a French sportsperson is comfortable, that is not when they are at their best,” he said recently in a comment that sounded very much like a response to Lucas Hernández’s assertion that France have “the best attack in the world”. This month, Rayan Cherki added that France want to “crush” their opponents. Deschamps is trying to rein it in: humility, not hubris is what he wants from his players.Deschamps, in his final tournament as France manager, is not looking to rein in the attacking potential in this side. Having been criticised for his conservatism, particularly in France, he seems more willing to let his players off the leash at this tournament, saying he wants them to be “less readable” than in the past. The presence of players such as Olise and Cherki will help with that.Adrien Rabiot says that Olise and Cherki, who have emerged since the last World Cup, have added “freshness” and “enthusiasm” to the side. Lemerre made the mistake of not refreshing the squad in 2002 but Deschamps – partially out of obligation – has picked 10 players who have never played in a major international tournament, and 12 who have never played a minute at a World Cup.There is a fine line between continuity and stagnation, as France proved in 2002. France have opted for renewal at this World Cup and they will go even further when Zinedine Zidane is confirmed as their new manager after the tournament. As France approach a new era, the players are keen to end this one with what Rabiot calls “a beautiful homage” to their manager, the most decorated man in French football history.This is an article by Get French Football News