Thiaw Calls for Greater Aggression from Senegal After Loss to France

The African side appeared to be the stronger team during a goalless first half, before France captain Kylian Mbappe found the net in the 66th minute, and Bradley Barcola added a second in the 82nd. Ibrahim Mbaye's stoppage time goal brought joy, but it was short lived as Mbappe struck again from distance a minute later.

Senegal return to the New York/New Jersey Stadium on Monday to face Norway.

"There were some errors, it was a collective error," said Thiaw. "At times we dropped into a low block and we were very passive on the pitch. We need to be more aggressive towards the ball carriers so that certain passes do not occur, like when France scored."

Senegal came into the World Cup on a strong run, having won the Africa Cup of Nations before the Confederation of African Football controversially stripped them of the title earlier this year.

"We need to rally the players; it has been a long time since this team lost their opening match in a competition, but we have two more games and still have our chances. We need to focus very well on the next match to secure the three points," said Thiaw.

Senegal face another prolific scorer in Erling Haaland when they play Norway.

"We need to keep working on that to keep the lines closer together," said Thiaw. "This will allow us to have a more compact block and not have to work from left to right."