On Friday, the draw for the 2026 World Cup group stage took place. France was drawn into a group with Senegal, Norway, and one of the play-off winners (Bolivia, Suriname, or Iraq). Warren Zaïre-Emery, the 19-year-old midfielder for Paris Saint-Germain and the French national team, was invited to comment on the draw in the mixed zone on Saturday evening after PSG’s 5-0 victory against Rennes.
Zaïre-Emery: “The goal is simply to be there.”
“Regardless of the opponents, these are always difficult matches. The goal is simply to be there. And then, we’ll try everything to win every match.”
Zaïre-Emery: “There will only be great matches, and it’s certain that it will be difficult.”
Is Ibrahim Mbaye’s Senegal a stumbling block for France?
I haven’t talked to him much about it. Senegal is a tough team to play against. There will be Norway and a third opponent we don’t yet know. There will only be great matches, and it’s certain to be difficult,” remarks reported by Le Figaro.
We can highlight the humility and clear-sightedness of Zaïre-Emery, who doesn’t want to get ahead of himself when his place is far from guaranteed. He is among the contenders for a spot on Didier Deschamps’ roster, and the current period is very encouraging, but the season is long and the competition will be fierce.
Then, the commentary is fairly standard. And accurate. Senegal and Norway are very exciting matches to play and important challenges against teams that have been in good form for several months. The team that wins the playoff will be the underdog, but will obviously have to be respected.
