France Lays the Ghost of 2002 to Rest After Overcoming Senegal

France did on Tuesday at MetLife Stadium what Spain, Brazil and the Netherlands all failed to do at this World Cup—win its opening match.

The 3–1 win against Senegal isn’t the most emphatic scoreline from the first round of group-stage fixtures so far, an honor that belongs Germany (7–1), followed by Sweden (5–1) and the United States (4–1). But it gives French fans enough to be pleased with overall, especially considering the sluggish start.

Back in 2002, this fixture provided one of the all-time great World Cup shocks.

Senegal was brand new to the global stage at that time, emerging from an African scene that had been headlined through the 1990s by Cameroon and Nigeria. Meanwhile, France was the reigning world and European champion after successive tournament wins since 1998. It was, beyond a doubt, a monumental mismatch that, on paper, should only have ended one way. Except, it didn’t.

Current Senegal manager Pape Thiaw was watching from the bench that day in Seoul, South Korea, a backup player with a front row seat as Papa Bouba Diop scored the most unlikely winning goal. Diop sadly passed away in 2020, aged just 42, but his place in World Cup history is set in stone.

Didier Deschamps wasn’t involved, leaving international soccer straight after Euro 2000. Still, many of his teammates were part of the team, and France’s boss wished for a “different story” in 2026.

At times, it didn’t look like he was going to get it. Senegal, of course no longer such a massive underdog at a fourth World Cup, was dangerous and never out of the match.