World Cup: Olise and Upamecano start for France against Senegal
| Michael Olise for France. | Photo: Franco Arland / Getty Images. |
World Cup favourites France face Senegal in the opening game of Group I in the 2026 World Cup. France lost one of the most dramatic World Cup finals in recent history against Argentina on penalties, while Senegal went out against England in the knockouts after losing 3-0 in 2022.
Bayern Munich's superstars Michael Olise and Dayot Upamecano have become key players for Didier Deschamps' France side and Olise especially has transformed into one of the most important players for the super squad from Western Europe.
On the other side of the pitch, there is only one player from the Bundesliga - Bara Sapoko Ndiaye! It was quite the surprise that the 18-year-old even made the squad-list, as he had never featured for Senegal before. He could get some game time of the bench against France tonight.
Some familiar faces will also be involved in tonight's clash: for Senegal, Nicolas Jackson, Sadio Mané (both formerly at Bayern), Moussa Niakhaté (Mainz 05) and Ismail Jakobs (1.FC Köln) will try their best to challenge France.
Ousmane Dembélé (BVB), Marcus Thuram and Manu Koné (both Gladbach), Jean-Philippe Mateta (Mainz 05), Ibrahima Konaté (RB Leipzig), Maxence Lacroix (Wolfsburg) and Lucas Hernández (FC Bayern) could all make the difference for France - as you can see, the Bundesliga has developed many of today's superstars!
With just about an hour to go, here are the confirmed lineups for the match:
Confirmed France vs. Senegal Lineups
France (4-2-3-1): Maignan - Koundé, Saliba, Upamecano, T.Hernández - Tchouaméni, Rabiot - Olise, Dembélé, Doué - Mbappé
Senegal (4-3-3): Mendy - Diatta, Koulibaly, Niakhaté, Diouf - Camara, I.Gueye, P.Gueye - Sarr, Jackson, Mané
