2026 World Cup: head-to-head France-Senegal at the New York New Jersey Stadium on 16 June (21:00 CET)

The France national team was valued at €1.5bn for its 26-player squad according to Transfermarkt, 3.2 times more than Senegal’s squad (€478m), a few hours before the two teams met at New York New Jersey Stadium (80,663 capacity, East Rutherford, USA) in their opening Group I match of the 2026 World Cup on 16 June (kick-off at 21:00 CET).

France occupied second place in the FIFA rankings, behind Argentina, having still led the rankings at the beginning of June before losing 2-1 to Ivory Coast in a friendly match. Les Bleus remained the highest-ranked European nation, just ahead of Spain (3^rd), which dropped one place after drawing 0-0 with Cape Verde on 15 June. Senegal, the second-ranked African nation behind Morocco, stood 16^th.

The French Football Federation presented a record budget forecast of €348m in revenue for the 2026-27 season, which included the FIFA distribution linked to the 2026 World Cup. The budget was notably based on the assumption that France would reach the quarter-finals, a scenario that would allow the FFF to receive around €26m. Each of the 48 FIFA member…