France got off to a winning start at the 2026 World Cup with a 3-1 win over Senegal, but the BBC faced backlash over a mix-up during coverage.
BBC apologizes (Image: Getty Images)
The BBC has apologized after making an apparent blunder during its broadcast of the World Cup match between France and Senegal. Qatar runners-up France got off to a winning start to the 2026 season against African Cup of Nations finalists Senegal with Kylian Mbappé scoring twice.
Les Bleus were thrown into what many called the “Group of Death” this year, along with Norway and Iraq in Group I. With this victory, they are almost certain to advance to the final tournament as one of the best teams in third place.
However, Didier Deschamps’ side will be firmly focused on topping their group and securing a favorable position in the bracket.
But before the ball was even kicked, World Cup viewers took to social media en masse to point out errors in the BBC’s pre-match coverage.
In a graphic showing the starting squad, Arsenal centre-back William Saliba was mistakenly shown alongside a photo of Dayot Upamecano. To make matters worse, the image of Ibrahima Konate was used instead of Jules Kounde in the graphics for the same line-up.
Social media users quickly added, with @CJoneses100 writing: “Really @BBCMOTD? Embarrassing for the flagship company.”
BBC made two mistakes in France’s starting line-up graphic (Image: BBC)
@DJB_I_MCMLXXXV chimed in: “Oh, what is the BBC doing here? Konate is not Kunde and Saliba is not Upamecano’s twin.” @888NeogeneAngel further added, “Saliba is Upamecano and Kunde is Konate?? What’s wrong with the BBC??”
@JamesDoody75 posted: “The BBC posted two pictures of Upamecano to show France’s defence. Where is the picture of Saliba? Shameful.”
The BBC issued a statement regarding the mistake, saying: “We apologize for this error.”
On the pitch, controversy arose after the referee overruled what appeared to be a Stonewall penalty on Mbappé, despite a VAR review on the monitor. However, the Real Madrid striker had the final say and scored two goals in a 3-1 victory, putting France firmly in the lead.
The two goals came either side of Bradley Barcola’s goal, with Paris-born PSG prodigy Ibrahim Mbaye scoring Senegal’s only goal. Among the other teams in the group, Norway beat Iraq 4-1 to make a strong start to their first World Cup campaign since 1998.
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