This Tuesday, the French national team will play Senegal in their opening match of the 2026 World Cup qualifiers at 9 pm CET at the MetLife Stadium. Ahead of the match, Le Parisien and L’Equipe have attempted to predict the starting lineup that coach Didier Deschamps will field. Six Paris Saint-Germain players are expected to start. Five for France: Lucas Hernandez, Warren Zaïre-Emery, Désiré Doué, Bradley Barcola, and Ousmane Dembélé. One for Senegal: Ibrahim Mbaye. Deschamps is predicted to start.
France (4-2-3-1) –
Mbappé
Doué – Dembélé – Olise
Rabiot – Tchouaméni
T. Hernandez – Upamecano – Saliba – Koundé
Maignan.
Senegal (4-3-3) –
Mané – Jackson – I. Sarr
P. Gueye – I. Gueye – L. Camara or Diarra
Diouf – Niakhaté – M. Sarr or Koulibaly – Diatta
Mendy
Please note, these are not official lineups. The coaches’ choices may differ slightly. However, the media are generally reliable regarding Deschamps’ selections, so we expect something very close to this. We know there are doubts surrounding Mbappé and the potential problems this poses for the team as a whole, but the coach has largely set these concerns aside.
The challenge now is to find the best possible formula around him. There are numerous options within this squad; let’s wait for the official lineup announcement for confirmation, approximately one hour before kickoff. In any case, there will be some great players on both sides for this highly anticipated match.
