Senegal were made to pay for missed chances as they began their World Cup campaign with a 3-1 defeat to France in New York on Tuesday.
The Lions of Teranga are widely regarded as Africa’s best hopes for the tournament but now have an uphill task with another tough game to come against Norway on Monday.
Here are the player ratings from the first Group I clash:
Edouard Mendy (6): Big saves from Michael Olise in the 52nd min and then Kylian Mbappe showed his value but in the end he was beaten three times, the last one catching him from long range.
Krepin Diatta (5): A busy afternoon trying to curb the French attack meant the Monaco right back did not have any opportunity to push forward on the flank.
Kalidou Koulibaly (4): Back from injury, the Senegal captain was slow and out of sorts and often caught out. His time in the team might be coming to an end.
Moussa Niakhate (5): French-born defender from Olympique Lyonnais had his work cut out trying to stop Mbappe and had a good first half, only for the France captain to sensationally explode after the break and end Senegal’s hopes.
El Hadji Malick Diouf (6): There was good movement down the flank from Diouf and a notable cross into the French box that Nicolas Jackson should have tucked away late in the second half.
Idrissa Gana Gueye (6): It was the usual shift of work for the ageing midfielder, who is Senegal’s most-capped international and still key to protecting their defence and initiating their build-ups.
Lamine Camara (5); Looked too uncertain of what to do with the ball at times and took too many negative options and was replaced with some 15 minutes to play.
Pape Gueye (7): The conductor of the orchestra, prepared to muscle his way through, although not always successfully. But he was consistently determined and dangerous.
Sadio Mane (5): A quiet game by Mane’s high standards and he was lucky not to have conceded a penalty when tripping Mbappé in the Senegal area. The ref let him get away with it.
Nicolas Jackson (7): Breakaway after 24 minutes saw him shoot against the upright and he had another in the net pulled back for offside, looking a lot sharper than he has for a long time in a Senegal shirt.
Ismaila Sarr (5): Disappointing first half with a shot blocked, botched cross and then a sitter missed with the last kick of the half. Had that gone in, the outcome might have been a lot different.
Habib Diarra (5): Brought on with a quarter-hour left to help shore up a midfield that was already losing the battle after France had switched their approach in the second half.
Ibrahim Mbaye (7): The French-born substitute, who last year was playing for France at under-21 level, scored a spectacular effort with a characteristic burst of pace and dribble down the right-hand side.
Substitutes Pathe Ciss, Bamba Dieng and Iliman Ndiaye were not on long enough for a rating.
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