Nicolas Jackson’s meltdown – missed an open goal from 5 meters out, then two yellow cards in 2 minutes

In the final warm-up match ahead of the 2026 FIFA World Cup, the national teams of Saudi Arabia and Senegal played out a 0–0 draw. Jorge Donis’ side thus failed for the fourth time in the past year to score against a team ranked inside FIFA’s top 20, while Senegal ended an impressive run of 11 consecutive matches in which they had found the net.

Saudi Arabia started the match significantly better and completely dominated the opening ten minutes. Senegal goalkeeper Edouard Mendy was forced into two early and very difficult saves to deny close-range efforts from Al-Buraikan and Al-Juwayr.

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The control shown by Donis’ team continued throughout the entire first half. The clearest chance in that period fell to Nasser Al-Dawsari, who narrowly missed the target shortly after the half-hour mark.

On the other side, Senegal delivered a rather subdued first-half performance, with their only real threat coming from Cherif Ndiaye. However, his attempt was comfortably saved in first-half stoppage time.

Despite a strong first 45 minutes, Saudi Arabia’s coach made as many as five substitutions at halftime to give more players a chance. These changes clearly disrupted their attacking rhythm, allowing Senegal to gradually get back into the match.

Senegal coach Pape Thiaw tried to shake things up in the 62nd minute by introducing stars Nicolas Jackson and Ismaila Sarr, but even they were unable to provide the needed creativity or change the scoreline, while the Bayern Munich forward missed a huge opportunity. Jackson received the ball less than five meters from goal; all he needed to do was guide it into the net, but his effort sailed well over the crossbar—arguably harder to miss than to score.

Frustration grew within the Senegalese side afterward, seemingly led by the Bayern Munich striker himself. He first received a yellow card in the 82nd minute, and just two minutes later picked up a second for a reckless challenge on an opposing player, resulting in a sending-off.

No further changes occurred until the final whistle, and the match ended goalless. Senegal—and especially Jackson—will take this as a warning ahead of their opening World Cup clash against France, which awaits them in six days.