2026 World Cup: Led by Kylian Mbappé and Bradley Barcola, the Blues triumph over Senegal (3-1)
After a fairly sluggish first half, the Blues pulled themselves together and won their match against Senegal, this Tuesday 16th June 2026. What to remember from the match.
And one! For his entry into the 2026 Football World Cup, this Tuesday 16th June 2026, france faced Senegal.
For this first match for the Blues, Didier Deschamps bet on an offensive team, led in particular by Kylian Mbappé (captain), Ousmane Dembélé, Désiré Doué and Michael Olise. The rest of the 11: Théo Hernandez, William Saliba, Dayot Upamecano, Mike Maignan, Aurélien Tchouaméni and Adrien Rabiot.
𝐋𝐞 𝐗𝐈 𝐩𝐨𝐮𝐫 𝐥𝐚𝐧𝐜𝐞𝐫 𝐧𝐨𝐭𝐫𝐞 𝐂𝐨𝐮𝐩𝐞 𝐝𝐮 𝐌𝐨𝐧𝐝𝐞 🇫🇷🔥
Rendez-vous à 21h00 pour le 1er match face au Sénégal, en direct sur M6 et beIN SPORTS 1 📺#FRASEN | #FIFAWorldCup pic.twitter.com/hdn3Pouvoc
— Equipe de France ⭐⭐ (@equipedefrance) June 16, 2026
A sluggish first half
Unsurprisingly, as was the case with previous meetings, the kick-off was whistled a few minutes late. The first 25 minutes followed a little long, punctuated by failed checks and poorly applied passes on the Blues side.
Same story after the first of the cool breaks (or “cooling break”) of the match. Around the 40th minute, Ismaila Sarr was stepped on by William Saliba and briefly left the field while he recovered.
And six minutes of added time are added to this sluggish first half – despite a little heat stroke a few seconds before the whistle, from Ismaïla Sarr in Senegal.
Penalty refused for France, goal…
Here we go again! Will the match finally take off? The Senegalese kick off. A hope a few minutes later with the recovery of Jules Koundé… but the score does not open.
Will a corner in the 57th restart the machine? Still not. A penalty after a foul on Mbappé a minute later? No more (and it whistles in the stadium). We thought it was a great action in the 62nd minute, led by Mbappé and Olise… But the ball is stopped by Senegalese goalkeeper Edouard Mendy.
AND FINALLY THE BUUUUUT thanks to Mbappé in the 67th, who receives Olise’s throw wonderfully!!! The captain of the Blues thus equals the record by Olivier Giroud with 57 goals recorded with the Blues. Senegal seems to retaliate just after, but an offside rules out any equalizer with France.
… and re-goal
For the last 10 minutes, for the Blues’ first change, Dembélé comes out and gives way to Bradley Barcola… and what a good decision! Shortly after entering, this is the 2nd goal for France, in the 83rd, thanks to a nice pass from Adrien Rabiot!!!
It’s Désiré Doué’s turn to leave the field, replaced by Rayan Charki a few minutes from the end of the match. Here comes eight minutes of added time… and maybe a third goal? No, the goal this time comes from Senegal who, after 4 minutes of added time, scores his first point thanks to the duo Ibrahim Mbaye – Mike Maignon.
AND TURNAROUND WITH THE IMMEDIATE RESPONSE OF Mbappé, who scores his second goal and allows France to widen the gap (3-1). Kiks becomes the top scorer in the history of the Blues, with no less than 58 goals.
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