🇫🇷 France vs 🇸🇳 Senegal

France are the number one ranked team in the world. They won in 2018, were runners-up in 2022 — losing a final they were 3–1 up in with ten minutes to go, which still causes visible distress to French fans. Probably don't bring that up unprompted.

Kylian Mbappé is 27, is captain, and has already scored 12 World Cup goals. The all-time record is 16. If France go deep, he could realistically break it in this tournament alone. That is a genuinely astonishing statistic to drop into a conversation.

Their manager Didier Deschamps has been in charge since 2012, won everything there is to win, and has announced this is his final tournament. The farewell narrative adds a bit of extra drama if you need to explain why people are excited.

France are in Group I with Senegal, Iraq and Norway. Senegal are the only real danger — they're full of Premier League players your mates will have heard of, and the France vs Senegal match is one to actually pay attention to.

Historically, the number one ranked team going into a World Cup has not won it. Every single time. France fans know this and it gives their confidence a slightly anxious edge. Worth knowing if you want to seem perceptive.

Senegal are the reigning Africa Cup of Nations champions and have more Premier League players per capita than almost any other nation outside Europe. If someone tells you they don't rate Senegal, ask them which Premier League players they think aren't very good.

Sadio Mané is back and healthy after injuries disrupted the last couple of years. A fit Mané makes Senegal a genuinely different team — one of the most dangerous forwards in the world when everything's working.

They're in Group I with France, Iraq and Norway. France are the overwhelming favourites to top the group. Senegal beating France would be a monumental result — and is not quite as unlikely as it might sound, which is the interesting part.

Senegal reached the quarter-finals of the 2022 World Cup before losing to England. That's a solid consistent performance at back-to-back tournaments. They're not a one-off or a surprise story anymore.

Manager Aliou Cissé has been in charge since 2015, played in the 2002 World Cup side that reached the quarters, and has built a culture that takes winning seriously. He's one of the more experienced international managers in Africa.