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.
Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy has challenged his teammates to recover from the France defeat and get ready for their matchday two against Norway.
“We know our strengths and we know we are capable of much better. In particular, we lacked control in possession and we should have been more consistent in that area. But we must also acknowledge that we were up against a very good French team,” said the former Chelsea goalkeeper.
“Even if we had won that match, the group would still be wide open. Today we lost, but it's not over yet. Now we need to recover, focus on Norway, and get a result to stay in contention.”
Mendy added: “We had some good situations, especially in the first half, but we weren’t able to convert our chances. Against a team like France, that’s costly.
“At times, we were too passive. In the second half, we knew we had to raise our game and be more incisive in attack.
“We were at times, but against players of this caliber, you have to be flawless, both defensively and offensively. We can’t afford the slightest lapse in concentration.”
Senegal will next face Norway on June 23rd, who kicked off their campaign with a 4-1 win against Iraq.
