It's the big day. This Tuesday, June 16, 2026, the France national team officially kicks off its 2026 World Cup. For the very first group-stage match in Group I, Didier Deschamps's men won't have time to overthink: they launch their American adventure with a high-voltage encounter against Senegal at MetLife Stadium in New York. A baptism by fire of epic proportions to start the tournament, but also a moment with history that stirs up the old demons of French football.
To understand the electricity surrounding this poster, you have to go back to May 31, 2002. That day, in the World Cup opener in South Korea, the reigning world champions, the French, surrendered to a shock defeat (0-1) at the hands of the Lions of Teranga, thanks to a legendary strike by Papa Bouba Diop.
According to FIFA's official statistics, this match remains to this day the only meeting in the history between the two nations in official competition. The historical record is thus simple, stark, and brutal for France: 1 game, 1 defeat, 0 goals scored. A score that the Mbappé generation is determined to erase on American soil.
Today the setting has changed. The Blues approach World Cup 2026 as favorites, but Senegal (14th in the FIFA rankings) is no longer the minnows of years past. Impressive in the Africa zone qualifiers and at the CAN, Sadio Mané’s revenge-seeking side seeks to shake up the pecking order in Group I, which also features Norway and Iraq. For France, this match is anything but a warm-up!
For this opening group-stage match, the kickoff times are friendly for supporters staying in France thanks to the East Coast time zone. See you at 9 p.m. live and in clear on M6 as well as on beIN Sports 1 for subscribers.
