World Cup 2026: France vs Senegal 16/06/2026

Bet on Goals

In the opening match of the 2002 World Cup, defending champions France suffered a shock defeat against Senegal. Now, 24 years later, the runners-up of the 2022 World Cup once again begin their campaign against Senegal.

France was eliminated in that 2002 group stage despite boasting an outstanding squad. They have another outstanding squad today and, following Spain’s early exit, are now considered the tournament favorites. The attacking power of Les Bleus is exceptional, and there is little need to explain the quality of the players available in the final third.

Defensively, however, there are concerns, and they were clearly exposed in the recent friendlies. France conceded once against Northern Ireland and twice against Ivory Coast in its final warm-up matches before the tournament. Looking at a broader sample, France has kept only three clean sheets in its last ten matches, two against Ukraine and one against Azerbaijan.

Now they face one of the two strongest teams in Africa. Senegal, led by Sadio Mane, who always seems to elevate his game when wearing the national team shirt, possesses significant quality throughout the squad and enters the tournament dreaming of another deep run despite being drawn into a very difficult group.

I expect an open game with plenty of chances. Both defenses have vulnerabilities, and neither appears particularly well suited to dealing with the attacking strengths of the opposition. The Over 2.5 Goals line is certainly appealing at odds above 1.90, but I prefer a slightly more conservative approach with Over 2.25 Goals at 1.81 (Rabona) as my main selection.