I do think Senegal can cause France the odd issue, maybe even get on the scoresheet, but I expect the European side to come away with all three points and a few goals.

There aren’t many sides in international football blessed with the quality that France have in the final third. Deschamps has got much better at getting these players in a coherent system over the last few years, and you can’t ignore their runs to back-to-back finals, which shows that they don’t mind the pressure of this stage.

Senegal haven’t had the most ideal pre-tournament preparation either, failing to beat either the USA or Saudi Arabia in their warm-up games. France’s quality should shine through.

France could cover this line on their own, which is something they have done in 12 of their last 13 matches across all competitions - only failing to score twice in a surprise defeat to Ivory Coast in which they had 15 attempts with six finding the target.

France have also notably failed to keep any clean sheets across their last five matches, including clashes against Azerbaijan and Northern Ireland. There’s definitely an argument to suggest that France’s squad is a bit top-heavy and they will give away chances from the holes that are in the midfield and backline.

Senegal are quite an organised side, but can’t rely on keeping things low scoring here. They will have to be brave enough to take some risks in the final third themselves, as keeping a front four of Kylian Mbappe, Michael Olise, Desire Doue and Ousmane Dembele quiet for 90 minutes is a tough assignment.

I touched on the fact that France’s squad is a bit top-heavy, and I think that will lead to an important role for Mike Maignan in goal. He enjoyed another strong season for Milan, making 2.95 saves per 90 with a save percentage of 75.5%, and kept three clean sheets across five matches during qualifying.

Maignan wasn’t really tested in that qualifying run with France taking on the likes of Iceland, Ukraine and Azerbaijan, but Senegal certainly have options who can cause problems - particularly in moments where France have settled possession and move up the pitch, exposing them to runners in behind.

Senegal’s front three is expected to be:

Nicolas Jackson - 1.88 shots on target per 90

Sadio Mane - 1.27 shots on target per 90

Iliman Ndiaye - 0.71 shots on target per 90

You also have players like Ismaila Sarr, who can come on when the game is stretched, with the latter stages of games being ideal for his style of play and tendency to strike against better sides for the underdog.

There’s an argument to suggest that Olise is France’s main man ahead of this World Cup with the form he showed during the 25/26 season for Bayern Munich.

Olise registered an incredible 53 goal contributions across 57 appearances for Bayern Munich and comes into this World Cup priced as the favourite by many bookmakers to win the Golden Ball, with France also backed to go all the way. 

Olise averaged just shy of 2.0 shots on target per 90 for Bayern Munich in the Bundesliga last season, and found the target five times for France during qualifying across five starts (1.05 per 90). He also scored a hat-trick in his final warm-up game for France against Northern Ireland from four shots on target.

I expect Ndiaye to be a real outlet for Senegal here, which should put him in some promising situations to win fouls.

He’s enjoyed a strong season for Everton, winning 37 fouls across his 32 starts (1.20 per 90), which is a rate that I think will increase given how this game should pan out with France dominating and Senegal looking to take their chances in transition.

Ndiaye will be up against Lucas Hernandez (0.89 fouls per 90) and Desire Doue (1.59 fouls per 90) down his side of the pitch. He should be able to give Senegal some relief at times from what is expected to be consistent France pressure - he’s an excellent ball carrier, averaging 2.05 successful dribbles per 90 during qualifying for the African nation.

Desire Doue is built for a stage like the World Cup. 

He’s already had plenty of success with PSG, winning the Champions League in each of the last two seasons, and has shown he’s comfortable with the limelight having scored in the Champions League final last year. 

Doue enjoyed another really strong season for PSG, registering 22 goal contributions across just 48 starts for his club. He has also made a pretty decent start for France across limited caps, netting a brace against Colombia in a friendly a few months back. 

I also like this angle because of the Super Sub options. Doue could be replaced by the likes of Bradley Barcola, Maghnes Akilouche or Rayan Cherki - so there’s plenty of attacking talent in reserve should France not quite manage to involve Doue when he’s on the pitch.

Sadio Mane still has plenty to offer at this level and is seen as Senegal’s main attacking threat at the age of 34.

He enjoyed another decent season in the Saudi Pro League last year, netting 14 goals in a total which is a tally he’s exceeded in each of the two previous campaigns.

He scored five goals for Senegal during qualifying from an average of 1.12 shots on target per 90, and also netted twice at AFCON from 10 shots on target (1.39 per 90). 

I think he’ll get at least one opportunity to get a shot away, and is also on penalties for his nation, which can offer an extra avenue to goal if Senegal win a spot kick.

I’m really excited to watch Lamine Camara at the World Cup. He’s been developing steadily with Monaco and is ready for a move to one of the truly elite sides on the continent.

Camara is a magnet for fouls. He averaged 1.36 fouls committed per 90 and 2.33 fouls won per 90 for Monaco in Ligue 1 during the 25/26 campaign, and I expect him to get very involved here against a French midfield which looks more physical than technical on paper. 

I’m particularly interested in his clash with Adrien Rabiot, who averaged just shy of 2.0 fouls won per 90 for AC Milan during the 25/26 campaign, with Aurelien Tchouameni also able to offer a threat, having averaged 0.93 fouls won per 90 for Real Madrid during the domestic campaign.

Camara is a bit cuter than both of those players, also making him a decent option to look at to win fouls, but may struggle with how dominant France will be in this game - he collected six cards across 22 starts for Monaco during the 25/26 season.

I come back to this selection quite often, I don’t rate Upamecano as highly as some people, as I think he’s pretty error-prone. 

I backed him regularly to commit fouls with Bayern Munich when I knew he was going to be up against a side that like to counter-attack. He’s not that confident in 1v1 situations, particularly against quick players, so the Senegalese frontline are bound to cause him problems as pretty much all of them fit this profile.

Upamecano averaged 0.75 fouls per 90 during the 25/26 season for Bayern Munich, and his main direct opponent is likely to be the lively Nicolas Jackson (0.90 fouls won per 90).