France vs. Senegal: Les Bleus Open Their World Cup Campaign in New York

France kicked off their 2026 World Cup campaign tonight — and they did it in the biggest of stages. Les Bleus, coached by Didier Deschamps and captained by Kylian Mbappé, faced Senegal in Group I at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford, New Jersey (yes, the stadium technically sits in New Jersey, not New York City — but everyone calls it the New York area). It's the kind of opener that gets your attention.

Here's the setup: France are one of the tournament's biggest favorites. They're a two-time World Cup winner (1998, 2018), finished runners-up in Qatar in 2022, and walked into this tournament ranked third in the world by FIFA. Their squad reads like a who's-who of European club football — Mbappé leading the attack, William Saliba anchoring the defense (who shook off a minor back issue just in time), and a midfield stacked with names like Aurélien Tchouaméni and Warren Zaïre-Emery.

But Senegal are no pushover. If you know your World Cup history, you'll remember the last time these two sides met in a World Cup — 2002 — Senegal pulled off one of the tournament's great upsets, beating the defending champions France 1-0 in the very first game of that edition. History has a way of making fixtures like this feel loaded.

Senegal's approach this time around? Stay compact, defend hard, and hit France on the counter. They've got the physical presence of Kalidou Koulibaly to disrupt France up front, and a squad that qualified with real conviction. They're underdogs, but dangerous ones.

For France, the game plan is simpler on paper: dominate possession, use Mbappé's pace to stretch Senegal's defensive lines early, and get three points on the board before facing Iraq (in Philadelphia) and Norway (in Boston) to complete the group stage.

The Group I picture matters. All four teams — France, Senegal, Iraq, and Norway — play their openers tonight and in the days ahead. In this expanded 48-team tournament format, the top two in each group advance automatically, plus the best eight third-place finishers across all groups also go through. So even a loss tonight wouldn't necessarily end anyone's campaign — but in a tight group with Norway (who have Erling Haaland) lurking, dropping points early creates real pressure.

Why should you care if you're not a die-hard soccer fan? Because this is the biggest World Cup ever — spread across the US, Canada, and Mexico — and MetLife Stadium, right outside New York City, is hosting some of the tournament's marquee matches, including the final on July 19. France vs. Senegal is one of the first proper 'big game' matchups of the group stage. It's two of the world's most talented footballing nations, with a historical grudge to settle, playing in your backyard. That's a pretty compelling Tuesday night.