It didn’t look like a clear victory for France for a long time. On the contrary, Senegal could have been 2-0 ahead after the first half. In the 25th minute, Nicolas Jackson, most recently a substitute striker for Harry Kane at FC Bayern, almost gave Senegalese the lead. But the 24-year-old only hit the left post before the ball went out off the back of France goalkeeper Mike Maignan.
The second big chance for Senegal was missed shortly before the end of the first half: former Bayern striker Sadio Mané had crossed from the left into the center of the penalty area. However, the ball then slipped over Ismaïla Sarr’s right foot.
France had achieved little success up to this point. Captain Kylian Mbappé was repeatedly sent on the move with deep passes, but until then he remained largely ineffective. The initial chants of the French fans (“Allez les Bleus”) fell silent as the first half progressed.
Two scenes in stoppage time were emblematic of France’s weak first half: France’s Désiré Doué wasted the ball in his own half with a backheel trick. Shortly beforehand, France’s biggest chance to score came when Senegal’s central defender Kalidou Koulibaly almost directed a harmless cross into his own goal.
“The more he touches the ball, the better”
In the second half, France appeared to be completely different offensively after Olise and Dembélé switched positions. The Bayern striker repeatedly looked for Mbappé from the middle with his passes, who then took the lead in the 66th minute.
France coach Didier Deschamps also saw Olise’s change of position as the decisive turning point in the game. “The more he touches the ball, the better,” said Deschamps in the press conference after the game. Olise ensured that the parts of the team were better connected to each other. Mbappé was “brutally efficient” in front of the goal.
Shortly before the lead, there had been several minutes of confusion about a suspected penalty: France’s captain had fallen in the penalty area. But the Australian referee Alireza Faghani decided on a goal kick after reviewing the video footage. Ex-Bayern professional Thomas Müller called the decision on Magenta TV “scandalous”.
Jackson hits from offside
At this point, Senegal had less and less to oppose France. An African goal by Jackson was disallowed in the 68th minute because the striker was offside.