RSL title rivals Hernandez & Mane meet again in FIFA World Cup cracker | OneFootball

For those who know their FIFA World Cup history - and global history, for that matter - France against Senegal evokes all sorts of emotions.

Back in 2002, the African nation, a former French colony, debuted at the tournament and caused one of the greatest upsets in World Cup history. It was there, in the opening game in Seoul, that Bruno Metsu’s men defeated France, the then defending champions, 1-0 in a shock for the ages.

It was a result that sent shockwaves around the world, and now, 24 years on, the two meet again in the opening round of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, this time in New York, New Jersey.

However, this time around the context is vastly different.

While little was expected of Senegal before 2002, they arrive now as arguably the strongest team in Africa, having made the final of the 2025 Africa Cup of Nations and with a squad of players, headlined by Al Nassr’s Sadio Mane, that have played at the highest levels of the game.

France, unlike in 2002 when they were the holders, come into North America with a point to prove after coming up agonisingly short in Qatar in 2022, falling to Argentina on penalties in a thrilling final at Lusail Stadium.

It’s safe to say the scars of that night will still be felt by Al Hilal’s Theo Hernandez as, four years on, he and his international teammates hunt for redemption.

Mane and Hernandez were young kids when that momentous match between Senegal and France took place in 2002, at only age 10 and four respectively. But, while Hernandez is too young to remember it, as a football-obsessed youngster, Mane was engrossed.

Senegal one, France nil remains permanently imprinted in his mind.

"Watching that made me absolutely determined that one day I would do what that team did," the Al Nassr star previously told France Football.

This, Mane will hope, is the year Senegal do just that. In his previous appearance at a World Cup, in 2018 - he was injured in 2022 - Senegal didn’t make it past the group stage.

As arguably the form team from the African continent, expectations of Senegal are high; not just for making it out of the group, but also for advancing deep into the tournament and, just like 24 years ago, creating yet more history.

On Tuesday, Mane and fellow Roshn Saudi League representatives Edouard Mendy and Kalidou Koulibaly should line-up in the opening match of Group I against France, where they will most likely face Al Hilal full-back Hernandez.

Given Mane’s deployment in attack, the Riyadh rivals could well be committed to direct combat, just as they were in the race for the 2025-26 RSL title.

Yes, the pair have each experienced the excitement of a global finals once previously, but they return in 2026 as important figures for their respective national teams. For sure, both are eyeing World Cup glory.

Before joining up with Les Bleus and Lions de la Teranga, though, Hernandez and Mane were locked in another battle, this one for RSL supremacy.

On either side of the capital divide they fought: Mane a central figure in Al Nassr’s fearsome frontline - the most potent in the 2025-26 Saudi top flight - with Hernandez an ever-present in defence for Al Hilal. In that, they proved protagonists in one of the most gripping title races in RSL history.

In the end, it was Mane who emerged victorious, his 10 goal of the domestic season on the final day helping seal a drought-breaking championship crown for Al Nassr.

Three years after he arrived in the Kingdom, Mane remains as valuable as ever - both for club and country.

While the pain of falling short will linger for Hernandez, who scored the most goals of any defender in last term’s RSL (five), he will undoubtedly use that as fuel - one that can drive him in North America and then in his second season in Saudi Arabia.

Yet RSL ambitions aside, Mane and Hernandez look set to square off once more, this time at MetLife Stadium in East Rutherford.

In the bright lights of football’s preeminent event, the eyes of the world will be on them in what represents one of the most hotly anticipated group-stage clashes of this World Cup.

It’s a match steeped in history, both football and beyond - 10 of the Senegalese squad were born in France - between two of the best teams from their respective continents, in arguably the lead city on the planet.

And right in among it? Two RSL superstars looking to write their own chapter in the record books.