Key events<\/p>\n
7 min Nice from Senegal, a Jackson flick sending Sarr nashing goalwards. But Upamecano does really well to stick with him then hold him up, then block.<\/p>\n
Share<\/a><\/p>\n 6 min \u201cIn response to Gary Stover, says Justin Kavanagh, \u201cif the game was played on paper, they\u2019d be presenting the trophy to Les Blues today. But, as Spain found out yesterday, the game is played on grass, often against 11 very stubborn blokes from somewhere foreign determined to put their country on the map. Just like Senegal did in 2002.\u201d<\/p>\n I don\u2019t love France\u2019s balance; i fancy Portugal, but in a big knockout contest, it\u2019s hard to back against Spain despite yesterday, because of how good they are at retaining possession.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 4 min Rabiot picks up a knock-back from Olise and punches an instapass at Mbappe, who might let it run by him and set off because he\u2019s in, but instead looks to control, only to catch it on the buttock.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 3 min Jackson has himself on a rolling boil already, the ref forced to administer a talking-to, then the ball comes in Tchouameni treads on Maignan, and the ref awards France<\/a> the free-kick.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min Right away, Kounde makes a mess of a ball coming over his shoulder then, shortly afterwards, Saenegal set Diouf away down the left. His cross is as brilliant as we\u2019ve come to expect from him, Hernandez forced to head behind, really well, in the knowledge Sarr is loitering behind him.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n 1 min These kick-off countdowns are really helpful \u2013 how would we know it was coming otherwise? Off we go!<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n We\u2019re pretty much ready to go\u2026<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n This is, of course, Senegal\u2019s first tournament game since the Afcon title was taken away from them. A few minutes ago, Wayne Rooney was on UK telly disagreeing with the decision, saying the match was played out, and I understand that. But I\u2019m afraid Fifa felt the need \u2013 not without reason \u2013 to make the point, pour encourager les autres, that you can\u2019t stalk off the pitch if you don\u2019t like a refereeing call.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Anthem time!<\/p>\n The players line up for the national anthems. Photograph: Mike Segar\/ReutersShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.06 EDT<\/p>\n Our teams are tunnelled \u2026 and here they come! It\u2019s sunny, the sky is clear, and the ground looks reme. I can\u2019t wait for this, and the good news is I \u2013 and we \u2013 don\u2019t have to.<\/p>\n French, left, and Senegalese players take to the pitch. Photograph: Adam Huger\/APShare<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a015.07 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cThat Senegal kit is indeed a beezer,\u201d agrees Simon McMahon, \u201cbut the one France<\/a> are warming up in is class too. Bonus style points for both teams.\u201d<\/p>\n My (brief) time as a City lawyer has given me a lifetime aversion to pinstripes, I\u2019m afraid, but I guess these are on-theme, looking, as they do, like the reverse of a New York yankees uniform.<\/p>\n Photograph: Franck Fife\/AFP\/Getty ImagesShare<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cWe were intending to watch the game on the big screen in the salle des f\u00eates of our local village in SW France<\/a>, in solidarit\u00e9 with our fellow villagers,\u201d advises Richard Hirst. \u201cUnfortunately the day rather got away from us, so we\u2019re at home instead. In any case, half of me would have been secretly favouring Senegal, to support the underdogs and to honour Fulham legend Papa Bouba Diop. In support of his status I was going to reference the goal against Man Utd, even at the expense of your goodwill, but you have very generously got there before me. So it\u2019s allez Les Bleus, but only 50%.\u201d<\/p>\n I\u2019m sure they\u2019d have welcomed a Senegal supporter, but glad to hear a day\u2019s got away from you. May that joy soon come to us all.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So where is the game? France are, I think, vulnerable at full-back, Kound\u00e9 liable to lose his bearings and Hernandez better going forward. I\u2019d expect Senegal to look to gang up on the, especially down their left, where Diouf and Man\u00e9 are a serious threat, and I also wonder if Dayot Upamecano, much improved by still liable to switch off, might struggle with Nicolas Jackson who, though he\u2019s not a reliable scorer, holds the ball up well and sees things others don\u2019t. Finally, will Rabiot fancy chasing Camara back to his own box? He\u2019s going to have to.<\/p>\n France, meanwhile, will see a lack of pace in the middle of the Senegal defence and ask Mbapp\u00e9 to challenge the space behind them, Demb\u00e9l\u00e9 and Olise looking to slide him in. The wide men will, I think, also look to take the full-backs infield, seeking to get off shots or duck outside to hit the line and cut-back.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Share<\/a>Share<\/a><\/p>\n Regular readers will know that, if we can get them, we like to embed playlists from competing nations so, as Delia Smith would say, if anyone has a Senegal or France<\/a> one, let\u2019s be having you.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cIt was interesting to hear on Football Weekly about the experience of watching the World Cup<\/a> from UK with the late kick-off times,\u201d says John Brennan. \u201cI suffer from almost the opposite problem. I live in New York and work a 9-5 so most midweek games are on in my afternoons and I usually follow on Guardian MBMs (others are available too I hear). Having games on in the evening after I get home from work is a huge shock to my system. Even the late night games are a pleasant addition to my life. USA v Paraguay was a pretty good watch last Friday and Iran v New Zealand was a pleasant nightcap before I went to bed last night (game finished at 11pm on the East Coast).<\/p>\n Please spare a thought for my wife who knows I\u2019m a huge sports fan but it hasn\u2019t really encroached that much on our life as even weekend games are over by lunchtime normally so there is still a lot of the day free to do whatever we want to do and she doesn\u2019t have to worry about me hogging the TV to watch games. Until now.\u201d<\/p>\n I feel you. I was in NYC for my wife\u2019s 30th and my team were playing, so of course I imposed it, but we were done by early morning. I\u2019m pleased you\u2019re getting to experience the more sociable, anti-social aspect.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n You may or may not have seen the wonderful new Senegal kit, printed inside-out. What a beauty!<\/p>\n Allow Instagram content?<\/p>\n This article includes content provided by Instagram. We ask for your permission before anything is loaded, as they may be using cookies and other technologies. To view this content, click ‘Allow and continue’.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Yes, yes, don\u2019t worry, it\u2019s coming. It is of course, impossible to mention our dear departed without also mentioning this goa<\/a>l.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n I was in the away end that night, right behind the shot, and you knew it was in from the second he conencted.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.56 EDT<\/p>\n We mentioned the Bouba Diop winner and celebration earlier; well, here it is<\/a>.<\/p>\n<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.57 EDT<\/p>\n \u201cOn paper,\u201d writes Gary Stover, \u201cFrance look better to me than PSG.\u201d<\/p>\n I know what you mean \u2013 Mbapp\u00e9 is a very nice to have \u2013 but I think I prefer the blend with Kvaratskhelia, and definitely don\u2019t think Mbapp\u00e9 adds enough for me to sacrifice Neves and Vitinha. If it clicks, though, everyone is in trouble.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n \u201cI must say that I\u2019m a bit surprised to see Idrissa Gueye starting for Senegal, seeing as he\u2019s the oldest member of the team by two years,\u201d says Matt Burtz. \u201cHe\u2019s of course also the most capped member of the team, so perhaps experience entered into the equation. His performances for Everton flagged as bit as the season came to a conclusion and it wasn\u2019t because Everton played an excessive number of games, though Gueye\u2019s Afcon participation added to his personal log.\u201d<\/p>\n Yeah, Amad Diallo and Bryan Mbeumo also struggled to get going again after coming back from Morocco, but I agree that Gueye is probably playing because he\u2019s the oldest member of the team, not in spite of it. Against Norway and Iran, I\u2019d not be surprised to see Sarr come in, but I guess Pape Thiaw wants his experience and positional discipline against so potent an attack.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Before I take a moment to write the teams down, credit where it\u2019s due: that lovely quotation about hacking and Frenchmen deployed in the preamble comes from Nick Greene\u2019s terrific new book, How To Watch Soccer Like a Genius: What Architects, Stuntwomen, Paleoanthropologists, and Computer Scientists Reveal About the World\u2019s Game. Recommended.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n Updated at\u00a014.16 EDT<\/p>\n As for Senegal, Idrissa Gueye and Papa Gueye are preferred to Pape Matar Sarr in midfield \u2013 I\u2019m a little surprised as I think his athleticism is important \u2013 while Iliman Ndiaye must content himself with a place on the bench, but he\u2019ll know that Man\u00e9 and Sarr are pretty well ensconced as wide attackers.<\/p>\n Share<\/a><\/p>\n So what does it mean? Well, France<\/a> are pretty much as expected, Desir\u00e9 Dou\u00e9 having moved ahead of Marcos Thuram in the right-wing stakes \u2013 rightly so, his skill superior and work-ethic at least as good \u2013 while Ousmane Demb\u00e9l\u00e9, yet to sync with Kylian Mbapp\u00e9, in behind him. Don\u2019t be surprised if, at some point during the competition, that spot goes to Rayan Cherki, but for now, the name harder to leave out is preferred to player who better fits. And otherwise, we can, I\u2019m sure, all agree that, after the apocalypse destroys the entirety of humanity, Adrien Rabiot will still be there, starting for Les Bleus in international tournaments.<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Teams<\/p>\n France (4-2-3-1): Maignan; Hernandez T, Saliba, Upamecano, Kounde; Rabiot, Tchouameni; Olise, Dembele, Dou\u00e9; Mbappe. Subs: Akliouche, Barcola, Cherki, Digne, Gusto, Hernandez L, Kant\u00e9, Konat\u00e9, Kon\u00e9, Lacroix, Mateta, Risser, Samba, Thuram, Za\u00efre-Emery.<\/p>\n Senegal (4-2-3-1): Mendy \u00c9; Diatta, Niakhat\u00e9, Koulibaly, Diouf E; Gueye P, Gueye I, Camara; Sarr, Jackson, Man\u00e9. Subs: Ciss, Diao, Diaw, Dieng, Diouf Y, Jakobs, Mbaye, Mendy A, Ndiaye I, Ndiaye C, Sarr M, Sarr P, Seck.<\/p>\n Referee: Alireza Faghani (Australia)<\/p>\n Share<\/a>Preamble<\/p>\n There are some fixtures that need only the names of the teams to get us going and France<\/a> v Senegal is one such, a meld of nostalgia, history and righteous indignation. \u201cI think Senegal will win,\u201d says Othmane Sonoko, former prime minister and speaker of the Senegalese parliament, \u201cbut in any case, whichever team wins, it is Africa that will have beaten Africa.\u201d<\/p>\n The teams, of course, met in the World Cup 2002<\/a> opener, a game which featured one of the great centre-forward displays from El-Hadji Diouf and one of the great celebrations following Papa Bouba Diop\u2019s goal, which secured one of the great shocks. Nor did things improve for France thereafter, eliminated bottom of the group with one point and no goals, the worst-ever performance from a defending champion. The teams have not met since.<\/p>\n