France v Senegal Betting Markets
France have all the tools to go deep at the 2026 World Cup. They begin their campaign on 16 June when tackling Senegal at the MetLife Stadium, with Les Bleus strong favourites to claim a victory. Their odds of 1.44 suggest a 70% chance of landing a victory, with Didier Deschamps' side possibly the strongest team in the tournament.
They will certainly be a popular accumulator selection when you consider the quality within the ranks. Deschamps has the unenviable task of selecting from an attacking pool that includes captain Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue, Michael Olise and Rayan Cherki.
Aurélien Tchouaméni is the star turn in midfield and is backed up by the evergreen N'Golo Kante, with Dayot Upamecano, Jules Kounde and William Saliba offering steel in defence. Since losing 5-4 to Spain in a crazy Nations League encounter last summer, there have been a series of wins with the exception of a 2-2 draw against Iceland.
Recent results have seen the French beat Brazil 2-1 before a 3-1 success against Colombia. We're not expecting them to lose the winning habit against a Senegal side who will hope to repeat that famous 2002 success where they beat the same opponents in the first game of that particular World Cup.
The African side were stripped of their AFCON title after leaving the pitch in a final against Morocco, although they can still lay claim to being the fiercest side on the continent. There have been recent wins over Peru and Gambia although this is an altogether more tougher assignment for Pape Thiaw's side.
Sadio Mane is the one world-class talent within the squad, with Everton's Idrissa Gueye bringing an enormous amount of experience to the ranks. Kalidou Koulibaly also has over 100 caps, with Crystal Palace's Ismaila Sarr a capable forward although they might still struggle to stay on terms with their opponents.
Goals Under/Over
When a team such as France has so many quality attacking players, it's easy to lean towards Over 2.5 Goals. However, we can't rule out the possibility that the game will have a cagey opening. It's essential for Senegal to defend well in the early stages of the clash if they're to land a positive result. We can expect them to set up with a defensive formation and a deep defensive line in a bid to nullify the pace of Les Bleus attack.
Nevertheless, we know that Deschamps' side can cover the 2.5 goal line all by themselves. There could be joy in the substitutes that France are able to bring on in the later stages. We're expecting Senegal to struggle to carve out meaningful chances, so it could come down to how many goals the favourites are able to score.
We can't get away that the past seven games involving France have been Over 2.5 Goals and perhaps that's the way to go when it comes to your World Cup Bet Builders.
BTTS
At the time of writing, France's past three matches have resulted in BTTS Yes. There was a 3-1 success away to Azerbaijan before following that up with 2-1 and 3-1 victories over Brazil and Colombia respectively. There was also that zany 5-4 Nations League defeat at the hands of Spain last summer, although we can expect the French to run a much tighter defensive ship when it comes to the Senegal match.
It's worth noting that France's results at the 2022 World Cup saw them claim 4-1 and 2-1 wins over Australia and Denmark respectively before losing to Tunisia in what was effectively a dead rubber. Therefore, they might concede a consolation goal even if they proved too strong for the Senegalese.
Similarly, two of Senegal's three group games at the previous tournament in Qatar saw BTTS Yes happen as an outcome. After losing 2-0 to Netherlands in the opener, there was a 3-1 success against the hosts before a 2-1 win against Ecuador. However, they fell short against England in the knockout round when losing 3-0.
We are leaning towards France and BTTS No in a combination bet as we just think that Les Bleus will dominate the ball and the focus of their opponents will be trying to stop that flying attack from finding the net.
First Goalscorer
It's not too easy to predict how France are going to line up here, although Kylian Mbappe is a certain starter. The forward is one of the greats of the game and his strike rate for his country involves scoring fifty-six times in ninety-six appearances. We know that the Real Madrid man will be on penalty kicks and he's scored fifty-six goals across sixty-five La Liga appearances since switching from Paris Saint-Germain.
Ousmane Dembele is likely to occupy the central attacking role and he's similarly lethal, with the former Barca man having won the Ballon d'Or last year. There could be a threat from Bayern Munich's Michael Olise if he's able to find his way into the starting line-up, while Desire Doue is also an exceptional talent.
For the Senegal side, there will be a hope that Sadio Mane is able to provide some joy. The former Liverpool man continues to possess the sort of pace that defenders don't like to face, although Ismaila Sarr comes into the tournament having helped Crystal Palace win the Europa Conference League.