Senegal looks to repeat 2002 World Cup upset of France that set off dancing in Dakar's streets

EAST RUTHERFORD, N,J. (AP) — France's last World Cup match against Senegal set off dancing in the streets of Dakar.

Les Bleus were the defending champions when the Lions of Teranga's 1-0 upset win in the 2002 opener caused Senegal President Abdoulaye Wade to declare a national holiday.

“Not for revenge do we want to win, but we want to go as far as possible in this competition,” France midfielder N’Golo Kanté said through a translator on Monday, a day before Les Bleus and Senegal meet in Group I.

Senegal was a French colony before 1960.

“We know that a game between France and Senegal is a very symbolic game,” Senegal coach Pape Thiaw said through a translator.

Six of France's players hadn't been born at the time of the 2002 game, when Papa Bouba Diop scored in the 30th minute while lying on his side. The Lions of Teranga reached the quarterfinals that year before losing to Turkey, while France went winless and failed to advance from its group.

“There’s no revenge in football,” France coach Didier Deschamps said through a translator. “This will be another page to write now and what happened in 2002, well, all the best for Senegal. I mean it was good for them at the time but we’ll make sure that the results be a positive for us this time.”

France is a two-time champion seeking to reach its third straight World Cup final. Les Blues won in 1998 and 2018, then lost the 2022 final to Argentina on penalty kicks.

The French team is ranked third in the world, while Senegal is 16th.

“Our main opponent is ourselves,” Kanté said. “We cannot see ourselves too beautiful or too strong."

Thiaw was picked for Senegal's 2002 roster but played in only one game, the round of 16 win over Sweden. He will pass along lessons learned from the late Bruno Metsu, Senegal’s 2002 coach.

“Of course, there is going to be a Bruno effect when I’m going to be talking to my players tomorrow,” Thiaw said. “I will also add my personal touch and also add what Bruno taught me along the way.”

Fans in Senegal were denied visas by the U.S. government but Thiaw expects supporters to be inside MetLife Stadium.

“Of course we’d like to have our fans. We know what they can do for us. They push us,” Thiaw said. “But we have a major Senegalese community and we know that the Senegalese is very patriotic and they like their national team. You will see this tomorrow. You won’t even believe it that no Senegalese came over from Senegal.”

Senegal won the Africa Cup of Nations in 2022, then beat Morocco 1-0 in this year’s final only to have the Atlas Lions awarded a 3-0 forfeit win by African soccer’s governing body because the Lions of Teranga left the field for 15 minutes during stoppage time in protest of a penalty kick awarded to their opponent.

Senegal has appealed to the Court of Arbitration for Sport.

“For me we are champions of Africa, full stop,” Thiaw said.

Deschamps said in January he will retire this summer after 14 years in the same job. Tuesday's match will be his 20th as a World Cup coach, five shy of Helmut Schön's record with West Germany.

He is one of only three men to win World Cup titles as a player and coach, joining Mário Zagallo and Franz Beckenbauer.

Tuesday's game starts at 3 p.m. EDT and sunny weather is forecast but the temperature at kickoff is likely to be about 77 degrees Fahrenheit (25 degrees Celsius), down significantly from last weekend.

France practiced at Bentley University in Waltham, Massachusetts, after arriving in the U.S. last Wednesday.

“We had to train in the heat, under the sun," Kanté said, "and we saw also how tired we could be as a result.”

AP World Cup: https://apnews.com/fifa-world-cup

France's N'Golo Kante, right, challenges for the ball with Ivory Coast's Bazoumana Toure during the international friendly soccer match between France and Ivory Coast in Nantes, France, Thursday, June 4, 2026. (AP Photo/Jeremias Gonzalez)

FILE - Senegalese soccer supporters wave their national flags as they celebrate in front of Pisa's historical leaning tower, Italy, May 31, 2002, shortly after Senegal defeated France in the World Cup. (AP Photo/Fabio Muzzi, File)

FILE - Senegal's Moussa Ndiaye, right, and France's Bixente Lizarazu go for the ball during their World Cup Group A soccer match at the World Cup stadium in Seoul, May 31, 2002. (AP Photo/Lionel Cironneau, File)

FILE - A man watches the celebrations of Senegal's soccer players during the opening match France vs. Senegal of the soccer World Championships in South Korea on a wall of TV screens in a department store in downtown Hamburg, northern Germany, May 31, 2002. (AP Photo/Kirstin Knorr, File)

AUSTIN, Texas--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Aug 25, 2026--

Infravision, the company transforming how power grids are built and maintained with drone-enabled technology, today announced the appointment of veteran transmission construction leader Paul Gillespie as Director, Transmission Solutions. Gillespie will support the global deployment of drone and robotic systems across overhead transmission construction.

This press release features multimedia. View the full release here: https://www.businesswire.com/news/home/20260825193501/en/

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Gillespie brings more than 30 years of the highest levels of international experience delivering complex transmission projects from 132 kV through 765 kV. Prior to joining Infravision, he served as Construction Manager at Cormorant Utility Services (PowerTel) in Ontario, Canada, where he spent over five years leading transmission line construction and planning and executing major transmission infrastructure projects for utilities, renewable energy developers, and industrial clients.

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Gillespie began his career as a transmission linesman and progressed through supervisory and senior construction management roles, leading multidisciplinary teams of more than 100 personnel across construction, EPC, and ECI project delivery models. His work has spanned Canada, the United Kingdom, Europe, Australia, and India, including support for planning, constructability, deployment strategy, customer engagement, and training for India's expanding 765 kV network, one of the largest extra-high-voltage transmission programs in the world.

In the United States, transmission construction is entering a period of unprecedented growth. To meet the demands of both large-load and public-service needs, high-capacity lines are necessary. At the highest levels of 765 kV, most of the U.S. infrastructure was built in the 1960s and 1970s. There have been no meaningful 765 kV projects completed in the United States in the last 25 years. This has created a critical resource gap in the skills, knowledge, and expertise necessary to meet this demand. As of 2026, over 9,000 miles of new U.S. 765 kV construction projects have been announced or proposed for completion over the next 10 years. Gillespie’s extensive international experience constructing 765 kV transmission lines – combined with his exceptional experience with drones and aerial robotics, as well as modern construction methods – makes him uniquely qualified to help address this critical resource gap.

Gillespie will join a distinguished executive team that has expanded significantly since the company's $91 million Series B led by GIC, which included the appointment of Frank Tybor as Chief Technology Officer – a veteran aerospace and mechanical engineer who helped design and commission SpaceX's launch and recovery infrastructure, including the autonomous Droneships and Crew Dragon recovery systems.

About Infravision

Infravision is transforming how the world builds and maintains power grids. Its proprietary drone-enabled system helps utilities, contractors, and developers expand transmission and distribution infrastructure faster, safer, and at significantly lower cost, with far less environmental and community impact. Infravision has installed more than 2,000 miles of line across four countries for utilities including Powerlink, Transgrid, and PG&E. In 2026, Infravision was named one of Fast Company's Most Innovative Companies. For more information, visit infravisioninc.com.

Infravision Announces the Appointment of Paul Gillespie as Director, Transmission Solutions