France flexed their World Cup favourites muscles with an awesome second half against a strong Senegal side to win 3-1 in a game where all four goals came in the second half. The France vs Senegal match was the premium Group I game, and it almost lived up to the hype with some lovely goals, and a French goal scoring record for Kylian Mbappe.
The Premium Match Centre Review has the bits and pieces and minutes that mattered during the game, to provide you with as much information as you need in one minute, or at least allow you to fast forward the SBS coverage.
SETTING THE SCENE PRE-GAME
One of the premium games of the opening round of games with one of the favourites to win the World Cup up against one of the great hopes for Africa to go far. Senegal recently won the Africans Cup of Nations, although were stripped of the trophy, but it means they are winners. So are France, they won this tournament in 2018. And 1998. Senegal have form against France, winning the 2002 opener en route to France being dumped out of the tournament as reigning champions at the Group stage. Interesting stat – France’s seven games at World Cups v African nations follows this sequence (oldest game first) – WLWLWLW……..
1st Min – Good attacking cross nice and early from Senegal showing some intent by the Africans in this big game, requiring a defensive header for safety. The corner is wasted, as the French goalkeeper goes down before the ball is kicked and the referee gives a free kick to France.
3rd Min – Not long after a dangerous ball into Kylian Mbappe went awry, France have given away a free kick as a French defender trying to kick a high ball away ends up with his leg on the shoulder of a Senegal player. Nothing dangerous and slightly funny as it looked like something from Dirty Dancing.
7th Min – Offside given against Senegal, but they have been very busy in this half of the field with a number of attacking raids that don’t quite get to the chance creation, some are stopped for good French defending some are stopped for Senegal players falling over looking for fouls.
13th Min – France’s turn to live in the opposition’s half, and they too are pushing to attack without any end product yet. They waste a free kick in a good position through impatience. In fact for a team with such an attacking threat, France look a little tame for our liking.
17th Min – First shot of any type for either team is France trying to kick through about five Senegal defenders, the maths says it was ambitious and the end result confirms. But it’s a shot regardless. They’ll need to try harder though, as Senegal kept eight clean sheets in 10 World Cup qualifying games.
23rd Min – Getting a little more end to end now, just what the punters wanted from this match, but neither side on top either. Best chance of the game so far to Senegal’s Nicolas Jackson who makes a break down the left, shoots on the angle which beats the keeper but hits the post, but then also hits the keeper but bounces wide of the post. Very close. A follow up corner was wasted and such an ad break, I mean hydration break is taken.
30th Min – Hydration break hasn’t slowed Senegal down as they continue to pressure the French. Ismaïla Sarr has a shot without success but something is building.
38th Min – Ismaïla Sarr goes down after Senegal lose the ball on an attack, and at first it just looks like a football player falling down after the most pissweak amount of contact and they’re looking for a foul, but he’s still down 40 seconds later so play is stopped. He’s escorted from the field by medical staff. Sarr returns to the field, so maybe usual then.
42nd Min – Free kick to France in a slightly dangerous position after a Senegal player goes to ground looking for a foul and doesn’t get it so tucks the ball under his arm which goes the opposite way he was hoping for. Free kick into the box was easily dealt with. As was a follow up not long after. For all their attacking weapons, France have been a little underwhelming so far.
45th Min +6 – Senegal blow a massive opportunity, it should be 1-0. The ball is crossed into the box and Ismaïla Sarr is on the six yard box line and centre ready to shoot and he shoots over the bar, not even testing the keeper. It was the last play of the half.
No team is on top at the moment, but Senegal have had the better chances to score, and should be leading.
HALF TIME – FRANCE 0 SENEGAL 0
52nd Min – Big chance for France – Michael Olise forces a decent save from the Senegal keeper with a shot in the penalty box but to the left, the opportunity arising from some sloppy Senegal defending.
56th Min – Another big chance for France, a through ball finds Mbappe in the box with the keeper to beat but under heavy escort from Senegal defenders, and the keeper beats him this time. France are getting the big chances but Senegal are equally dangerous without the finishing.
58th Min – Kylian Mbappe goes down in the box…..referee says corner…..for now. Ooooh, replays show this could go either way. Not a lot of ball being touched by the Senegal defender, but perhaps an equal touch on Mbappe. VAR is checking…………after a minute of thinking about it, the referee runs over to the screen of knowledge. What will he judge……No Penalty is the call. So the Senegal defender, which was Sadio Mane tracking back, didn’t touch the player or the ball.
63rd Min – Another big chance for France, a through ball for Kylian Mbappe is just centimetres, or inches in the part of the world where this is being played, from getting to shooting chance for Mbappe. If he gets there, it’s hard to see him missing.
66th Min – GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
After a few near misses, Kylian Mbappe makes the most of this chance and opens the scoring for France. A wonderful pass into the penalty area to the right is met by Mbappe who hits it first time across the keeper and into the goal.
FRANCE 1 SENEGAL 0
68th Min – GOOOOOOO……Offside……
Senegal reply almost immediately through Ismaïla Sarr down the right, and his shot is a real rocket on the angle, but he was sadly offside.
We need to calm down with all this excitement, so good time for an ad break, I mean hydration break.
79th Min – Substitutions coming thick and fast and Senegal try and steal a result and France defend their. Obviously looking at military history Senegal might like their chances. Nicolas Jackson has a good chance with a volley close to goal, but is more Volleyball than Football as is goes over the net/goal.
82nd Min – GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
France double down with a second goal. A through ball down the middle of the field finds Bradley Barcola who approaches the keeper just inside the box and cooly puts a little chip kick over the Senegal keeper for a second goal.
FRANCE 2 SENEGAL 0
85th Min – France really on top now. A half chance for Mbappe is a bit of a fizzer, but the French look relentless right now, and a third wouldn’t surprise. The way they have stepped up in the second half shows why they are considered one of the favourites.
89th Min – Corner for Senegal, a goal here would make things interesting and tense, and who couldn’t go for some of that.
90th Min +5 – GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
Senegal have scored to make it interesting as requested. It’s Ibrahim Mbaye who smashes a shot at the French keeper at the near post and it is too hot to handle and bounces off the keep’s hands into the goal. Is there another goal in there in the three minutes left of injury time?
FRANCE 2 SENEGAL 1
90th Min +6 – GOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOOAAAAAAAAAAALLLLLLLLLLLLLLLLL
About five seconds after the Senegal goal replay is finished and the broadcast comes back to the actual game, France have scored again. The ball finds Kylian Mbappe about five metres outside the penalty area, and he smashes it towards the goal and away from the Senegal keeper, who like most at the ground wasn’t expecting such a quick reply.
FRANCE 3 SENEGAL 1
90th Min +7 – Senegal give themselves one more chance to score and they go close, but the end result looks like a meeting around the goalposts. They’ve tried hard but been outclassed by France in the second half.
FULL TIME – FRANCE 3 SENEGAL 1
Like the John West of Football stats, The Gurgler trawled the internet to find the quickest, easiest and of course the most delicious stats just for you. To give you just the taste of stats you need to impress friends and/or family.
This France vs Senegal Group I match is possibly the pick of the opening round of games, and France beware, as Senegal won their opening match last time they met on the first round of the World Cup, a result that effectively helped send France packing and started the trend of former World Cup winners leaving in the knockout stage. Senegal are no chumps, they won and didn’t win the African Cup of Nations, and are best placed to lead African glory. France have looked even better, and you feel it’s only French temperament that will keep them from doing well.
France vs Senegal Preview
STATS SUMMARY
RATINGS
The Gurgler’s in-house Ratings system based on H2H stats, World Cup stats, recent records, qualifying and past World Cup performance is here to make choosing the winner easier, or have something to blame.
| France | 53.0% | Senegal | 47.0% |
BARELY INTERESTING STATS
As above, the last time these teams met, and only time in a World Cup was an opening round fixture in 2002 where Senegal upset the then reigning World Champions. Senegal have won the only other game too, in Dakar in 1963, making it a Paris-Dakar challenge.
France are W3 D2 for opening matches at the World Cup since 2002, the last two were wins against Australia.
Since the heights of that 2002 opening game win, Senegal have won once and lost once in their next two efforts in 2018 and 2022.
Senegal’s record v UEFA nations at the World Cup in general is W3 D1 L3.
France’s seven games at the World Cup v African nations follows this sequence WLWLWLW, so an L is due.
Both teams topped their qualifying groups without losing a game. Senegal conceded three goals in ten games.
MATCH PREDICTION
FRANCE 3 SENEGAL 1
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