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France: Right, on to what is ahead. France and their potent attack featuring Kylian Mbappé, the former Ballon d’Or winner Ousmane Dembélé and flying winger Michael Olise open their account against Senegal in New Jersey.

The French will be desperate to avoid any repetition of the opening-day defeat by the Senegalese that they suffered at the 2002 World Cup in South Korea, a result which led to the then-reigning champions crashing out in the group stage. Luke Entwistle looks back on that unfortunate loss for Les Bleus and how the relationship between Mbappé and Dembélé must be positive from the off.

Mbappé’s relationship on the pitch with Ousmane Dembélé is perhaps a bigger issue. Dembélé has never delivered his best football for the national team; lest we forget his calamitous performance in the World Cup final four years ago, when he was hooked at half-time. Dembélé’s recent Ballon d’Or win has led to a clamour for him to picked in the No 9 position – where he has thrived since his reconversion at PSG under Luis Enrique – but that spot is occupied by Mbappé at international level.

When asked about Mbappé’s role as centre-forward, Deschamps’ retort is quite simple. Luis Enrique, Carlo Ancelotti, Xabi Alonso and Álvaro Arbeloa have all made the same decision at club level over the last three years. Repositioning him at this late juncture would be illogical. But Dembélé’s struggles on the right of the attack and inability to create a partnership with the France captain are feeding a national debate akin to the one in England in 2006, when there were similar concerns about the ability to fit Steven Gerrard and Frank Lampard into the same team.

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