El Hadji Malick Diouf: The 2022 runners France will take on Senegal in a Group I curtain-raiser at New Jersey Stadium on Wednesday. A fixture steeped in memories, with Senegal having memorably defeated the then-reigning champions France 1-0 in the tournament opener at Korea/Japan 2002.
France have sealed qualification for their 17th FIFA World Cup (1930, 1934, 1938, 1954, 1958, 1966, 1978, 1982, 1986, 1998, 2002, 2006, 2010, 2014, 2018, 2022, 2026) , a landmark event at which they have featured in the last eight editions and reigned supreme twice, in 1998 and 2018.
Didier Deschamps’ men headed into the 48-team FIFA World Cup 2026 with ambitions of becoming only the second European nation to contest the tournament decider three times in a row
