World Cup 2026: N’Golo Kante warns France against underestimating Senegal ahead of opener

France midfielder N’Golo Kante has urged his teammates not to underestimate Senegal ahead of their opening match of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, as the two sides prepare to renew a memorable rivalry at MetLife Stadium on Tuesday.

The fixture rekindles memories of one of the biggest upsets in World Cup history. When France and Senegal met in the opening game of the 2002 tournament in South Korea and Japan, the African debutants stunned the defending champions with a famous 1-0 victory courtesy of Papa Bouba Diop’s goal in Seoul.

That defeat set the tone for a disastrous campaign for Les Bleus, who failed to score a single goal and exited the competition in the group stage.

Speaking ahead of Tuesday’s encounter, Kante acknowledged Senegal’s growth into one of Africa’s strongest footballing nations and stressed that France must be fully focused if they are to begin their World Cup campaign with a victory.

“I have Malian roots, but I’ve represented France for a long time. The goal is to win against Senegal. We saw what happened in 2002,” Kante said.

“We want a victory, not for revenge, but to get the competition off to a good start and go as far as possible.”

The veteran midfielder, who played a key role in France’s 2018 World Cup triumph, praised the overall quality within Senegal’s squad, highlighting the balance between their defensive solidity, midfield strength, and attacking threat.

“Senegal is a team with a lot of quality and many strengths,” he added. “Their midfield performed very well during the Africa Cup of Nations, but they also have strong attacking and defensive players.

“They have a good balance, which makes Senegal a very difficult team, one to be taken seriously. The match will be decided by many aspects, but I think we have what it takes to compete with Senegal and win this match.”

France head into the tournament among the favourites to challenge for the title once again, while Senegal are aiming to make another deep run after reaching the knockout stages in previous editions.

With memories of 2002 still fresh in the minds of many supporters, Tuesday’s clash promises to be one of the standout fixtures of the opening round as the Lions of Teranga seek to upset the French once more.