France opened their bid to reclaim the World Cup with a dramatic 3-1 victory over Senegal at MetLife Stadium in New Jersey, with captain Kylian Mbappe breaking his country’s all-time scoring record in a Group I clash that came alive only in its closing stages.
The match was goalless and largely cagey through the first hour, with Senegal’s Ismaila Sarr spurning a clear first-half chance that might have given the Lions of Teranga an early lead. But the contest exploded into life in the final half-hour, with four goals arriving in a breathless finish.
Mbappe broke the deadlock in the 66th minute before substitute Bradley Barcola doubled France’s advantage in the 82nd. Senegal hit back through Ibrahim Mbaye deep in stoppage time, setting up a tense final few moments, only for Mbappe to settle matters almost immediately afterwards with a stunning strike from around 30 yards to make it 3-1 in the sixth minute of added time.
The brace took Mbappe to 58 international goals, surpassing Oliver Giroud’s record to become France’s outright record scorer. He now sits just two goals shy of matching Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup scoring record (16), with two more group games still to come for Les Bleus.
Didier Deschamps fielded a star-studded lineup including Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Olise, Saliba and Aurelien Tchouameni, with N’Golo Kante left out of the starting eleven.
France finished with the better of the statistics, registering eleven shots to Senegal’s six and dominating shots on target eight to two, despite a fairly even share of possession.
For Senegal, head coach Pape Thiaw’s side will look back on a battling display undone by a lack of composure in the final third before conceding twice in quick succession. Aliou Cisse-era stalwarts Kalidou Koulibaly and Edouard Mendy anchored the side, while Mbaye’s late consolation goal offered some reward for a spirited second-half push.
The result carries symbolic weight given the history between the two nations. Senegal famously stunned defending champions France 1-0 in their tournament opener at the 2002 World Cup, one of the great shocks in the competition’s history. This time, France made sure there would be no repeat, despite a nervy finish that briefly threatened to recreate old ghosts.
France will fancy their chances of cementing their position as one of the tournament’s leading contenders heading into their next fixture against Iraq, while Senegal will meet Norway.
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