2026 World Cup: France vs Senegal, El-Hadji Diouf makes a revelation

16.06.26 FT World Cup

France

3

:

Senegal

1

Next Tuesday, the Lions of Teranga from Senegal will kick off their World Cup campaign with a high-stakes clash against France.

In an interview with L'Équipe, Senegalese legend El-Hadji Diouf discussed the upcoming showdown. Diouf even brought up the idea of a marabout working magic on Kylian Mbappé.

"The first person to call me (after the draw) was my brother Wilfrid (Mbappé). He said to me: 'You have to be careful with my son, don't do what you did with Zidane' (meaning: don't put a spell on him). I replied: 'We'll do what we did with Zidane—your son won't play.' Of course, I want to see these teams with their best players. Football, above all, is about putting on a show. A match without Mbappé? No way! I was happy to beat France without Zidane. But with Mr. Zidane, it would have been something else entirely..." said the Senegalese star.

Joshua SOSSOU

Editorfr, en, ar

As a sports fan, and particularly a football fan, I've been putting my writing talent to good use for a number of years now to promote African talent and the continent's football in general. On Foot Africa, enjoy reading each of my lines.

Related teams and leagues

France

Senegal

World Cup