Everton: Idrissa Gueye boosts contract chances despite Senegal loss vs France
Everton midfielder Idrissa Gueye can hold his head high despite Senegal's World Cup defeat to France.
Pape Thiaw's side opened their Group I campaign with a blockbuster clash against Didier Deschamps' heavily fancied French team on Tuesday.
Gueye would start in the centre of a midfield three for Senegal, which was perhaps a slight surprise having only played seven minutes in their final pre-World Cup friendly against Saudi Arabia.
The Everton man needs a strong tournament too, with his Toffees contract set to expire at the end of this month.
Hill Dickinson Stadium chiefs are in talks with the 36-year-old over a potential new deal on Merseyside, but it's not clear how those discussions are progressing.
So, whether it's convincing Everton or possible suitors that he's still got plenty in the talk for 2026-27, Gueye knows that his World Cup performances could have a big say on his future at club level this summer.
How did Idrissa Gueye fare vs France?
In what would be one of the games of the World Cup so far, France and Senegal met in New Jersey on Tuesday evening.
The Lions of Teranga put up a strong fight against Les Blues, with their first-half performance in particular seeing them totally match the 2022 runners-up.
However, three brilliant second-half goals would eventually see France prove too much for the West African outfit, with Kylian Mbappe bagging a brace and Bradley Barcola netting as well.
Gueye would play 88 minutes of Senegal's 3-1 defeat, and in the midst of the second-half scoring and with eyes being drawn to the abundance of superstars on the pitch, his performance was easily overlooked.
As per FotMob, Gueye enjoyed a 92 per cent passing accuracy (56/61), played five passes into the final third and was accurate with his lone long ball attempt respectively.
He was also dispossessed zero times, made six recoveries, won two tackles and came out on top in two of his three ground duels.
With the French starting midfield consisting of Aurelien Tchouameni, Adrien Rabiot, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembele and Desire Doue respectively, putting up those sorts of numbers is highly impressive.
Indeed, it's all evidence he can use to help strengthen his case for a new contract at Everton, or to help write his sales pitch to other clubs as a free agent.
When do Senegal and Gueye next play?
Gueye's display will likely see him retain his starting spot for Senegal in their remaining World Cup group games.
And, if they are to stand any chance of progressing into the knockout rounds, a win in their second game is an absolute must.
With Norway thrashing Iraq 4-1, they and France sit joint-top on three points each, whilst Senegal and Iraq are both without a point.
It's not getting any easier for Gueye's side though, as they take on Erling Haaland and Norway next, with that game kicking off at 1am UK time on Tuesday 23 June.