France vs Senegal Prediction: Olise to have a dream World Cup debut

Two-time world champions France start their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign on Tuesday when they face Senegal in Group I in New Jersey (8pm BST/3pm local, BBC One).

Les Bleus will be hoping to avoid an upset, with the Lions of Teranga recording a historic win against them when they met in the 2002 finals. Read on for my France vs Senegal predictions, including the latest team news and match odds.

Team News

France's concerns surrounding William Saliba have been quashed. A back injury sustained in the UEFA Champions League final cast a shadow of doubt over the defender's availability at the World Cup but he's now returned to training.

Mike Maignan is expected to start in goal, while Jules Kounde has recovered from a muscle issue to be in contention to feature.

Les Bleus look set to name a star-studded front four of Kylian Mbappe, Ousame Dembele, Michael Olise and Desire Doue.

Sadio Mane missed the last World Cup with Senegal because of injury, so the winger will be fired up to have an impact in North America.

Assane Diao missed training due to a contusion. Cherif Ndiaye was absent on Saturday for unspecified reasons, while veteran Idrissa Gueye completed just part of the session as a precaution.

France vs Senegal Odds

France are the 4/9 favourites to win this clash and they've record five victories from their past six outings.

Having won two of the three historic meetings to date, Senegal may be a tempting selection at 6/1.

The stalemate can be backed at 10/3.

Kylian Mbappe needs one goal to equal Olivier Giroud's total of 57 for France. Mbappe is 11/4 to score first on Tuesday.

Sub Switch - Pre-match Bet Builder and Single bets on qualifying Player selections.

Match Result & Both Teams To Score - France & Yes @ 12/5

France are one of the pre-tournament favourites, so there'll be plenty of eyes on their first game against Senegal. Having previewed Les Bleus heavily ahead of the tournament, I am confident that they'll go on to win the tournament.

I'm expecting a bright start in this opener because I think they have the best attacking roster of any team at the World Cup. The options they have to make up their attacking quartet are frightening and I think Les Bleus' attack will cause all sorts of problems for the Lions of Teranga.

France have five wins from six, so they're in good form, but they're also facing a side who made it to the Africa Cup of Nations final earlier in the year. I think at the very least Senegal can grab a goal here, especially as BTTS - Yes has struck in each of France's past five outings.

Player To Score (Sub Switch) - Michael Olise @ 2/1

After a stellar season with Bayern Munich, scooping up the Bundesliga Player of the Season Award, Michael Olise should be in a very confident mood heading into this tournament with France.

The winger scored 22 goals and registered 31 assists in all competitions for his club in 2025/26, while he has seven goals in 17 appearances for Les Bleus to date. Olise netted a hat-trick last time out against Northern Ireland, so I'm enticed by his 2/1 price to find the net on Tuesday.