Tchouameni backs Senegal to recover from France defeat

 

French national team midfielder Aurelien Tchouameni believes Senegal will overcome their opening defeat at the 2026 FIFA World Cup and still go far in the competition, which is co-hosted by the USA, Mexico, and Canada.

Playing their Group I opener at MetLife Stadium, the Lions of Teranga suffered a 3-1 defeat against France. Despite the defeat, Senegal produced a performance full of courage, quality and ambition, but were ultimately punished in the second half.

Senegal looked every bit the equal of the 2022 World Cup finalists and at times appeared the more dangerous side, but the game was decided through the brilliance of Kylian Mbappe.

Mbappe scored twice, and Bradley Barcola added another after Senegal had competed strongly throughout the opening hour but were not able to find the back of the net.

Ibrahim Mbaye had threatened a comeback for Senegal after he scored to make it 2-1, but it was not enough to sustain pressure on France, who went ahead to carry the day.

Senegal are a great team

“Yes and no. Yes, because you see them on TV all the time. They’re the African champions, you know they have a great team with great players,” Tchouameni told Hoppen Media in an interview.

“But it’s when you actually play against them that you really realise it even more.”

Despite the defeat, Tchouameni insists Senegal has the necessary qualities to have a good run in this World Cup.

“Like I said, they’re the African champions and frankly, they’re a great team. I think they’ll do their thing in the tournament,” said Tchouameni.