Pape Thiaw says ambitious Senegal ready for France test in World Cup opener

[p]The Group I fixture will be a repeat of the 2002 edition in South Korea, when the two sides were drawn to face each other in the group-stage opener. During the fixture, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/senegal/hOIsJLJr/"]Senegal[/a] shocked the defending champions, [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/france/QkGeVG1n/"]France[/a], with a famous 1-0 victory.[/p][p][b]The Lions of Teranga will be returning to the global stage for the fourth time having qualified (2002, 2018, 2022, and 2026). Their best performance occurred during their tournament debut in 2002, when they reached the quarter-finals.[/b][/p][p]Over their World Cup history, the West Africans hold an overall record of five wins, three draws, and four defeats across 12 matches. During the 2002 campaign, Senegal followed France's victory with draws against Denmark and Uruguay to advance to the knockout rounds.[/p][p]They defeated Sweden 2-1 in the Round of 16 via a golden goal before falling to Turkey 1-0 in the quarter-finals. Senegal will face France again seeking to repeat their performance from 2002.[/p][h2]Senegal ambitious but not arrogant[/h2][p][b]“We're playing against France, but the competition isn't just about France. There will be other difficult matches, notably against [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/norway/8rP6JO0H/"]Norway[/a] and [a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/team/iraq/K8aAGt6r/"]Iraq[/a]. It wouldn't be a surprise if Senegal beats France,”[/b] Thiaw told reporters ahead of the fixture.[/p][p]“We have world-class players and we're the African champions. We've qualified for the World Cup three times in a row and we've been finalists three times in the last four AFCON tournaments. We have our status.[/p][p][b]“We can face any team. Humbly, we're very ambitious but not arrogant. We can beat any team, but we can also lose to any team if we don't do things right. We're ready to start this competition well, which is always a good thing.”[/b][/p][p]Thiaw added: “The Senegal team at the AFCON is a little different from the one we played in the two preparation matches.[/p][embed guid="ba24d6c8-b5a4-4684-a584-a6f27fd8126d" url="https://x.com/FIFAWC26Updates/status/2066827636421300256" social-type="twitter" /][p]“But as I've always said, even though we won against some great teams, friendly matches are for preparation. We also had players, who lacked playing time.[/p][p][b]“So, we were determined to get everyone up to speed. Tomorrow (Tuesday), I think we'll see the real version of Senegal.”[/b][/p][h2]Koulibaly available for Senegal[/h2][p]Senegal arrived at the World Cup with doubts surrounding the availability of defender Kalidou Koulibaly, who missed the last campaign of the Saudi Pro League for Al Hilal.[/p][p]Addressing the issue, Thiaw confirmed the Lions of Teranga captain will be fit and available to lead from the front, same as Idrissa Gueye, who missed the last two training sessions in the residential camp.[/p][p][b]“I have my entire squad available. Kalidou Koulibaly returned for the last match against Saudi Arabia,”[/b] offered Thiaw. [b]“All the players are fit, and it will be up to my staff and me to make the choices.”[/b][/p][p]Thiaw concluded: “The preparation matches have served us well. We know we will be facing a very good team; it's going into a very difficult match, but we are prepared. France has world-class players, but we have them too.[/p][p][b]“We rely on our team spirit, and we hope that the response will be there tomorrow (Tuesday). The match against France is symbolic; it represents a lot, but we will keep it within the sporting context to go for this victory and continue our journey in this World Cup.”[/b][/p][p]Apart from France, Senegal will also face Norway on June 22nd at New York New Jersey Stadium before winding up their group stage matches against Iraq at Toronto Stadium on June 26th.[/p][p][b][a href="https://www.flashscore.ca/game/soccer/france-QkGeVG1n/senegal-hOIsJLJr/?mid=ALxYcMw2"]Follow France vs Senegal with Flashscore.[/a][/b][/p][image alt="Dennis Mabuka" id="009ee08a-c012-41bf-bdae-acba9770ea19" credit-line="Flashscore" guid="9a13b584-6fb6-4ae5-a27c-5853d01a1aeb" original-width="1200" original-height="381" /]