The France captain struck in the 66th minute, added a second deep into stoppage time and moved to 14 World Cup goals, overtaking Pelé and Lionel Messi on the tournament’s all-time scoring list. Bradley Barcola, sent on as a substitute, scored France’s second in the 82nd minute before Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back for Senegal in stoppage time.
Mbappé’s double also took him to 58 goals for France, pushing him past Olivier Giroud as the country’s leading scorer. His World Cup total now leaves him level with Gerd Müller and behind only Ronaldo Nazário and Miroslav Klose, whose record of 16 remains within reach if France go deep in the tournament.
France’s win was built less on early dominance than on second-half correction. Senegal were sharper before the interval, pressing with purpose, unsettling France’s build-up and creating the better chances. Nicolas Jackson struck the post, Ismaïla Sarr found space behind the defence, and France’s midfield struggled to link a star-filled attack that included Mbappé, Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise.
Didier Deschamps’ side looked disjointed during that first half, with misplaced passes and little rhythm in the final third. Senegal’s intensity exposed gaps between France’s midfield and defence, while the European side’s wide players were frequently forced into hurried decisions. The match carried historical weight for both teams, recalling Senegal’s famous 1-0 win over France in the opening game of the 2002 World Cup.
The balance shifted after half-time as France reorganised their attacking structure. Olise moved into a more central creative role, Dembélé operated with greater width, and Mbappé began to receive the ball in areas where he could attack Senegal’s back line directly. That change turned a stagnant display into a more fluid one.
The breakthrough arrived midway through the second half when Olise found Mbappé, who finished with the assurance that has defined his World Cup career. France, who had laboured for an hour, suddenly looked like the side expected to contend for a third world title. Senegal were forced to chase the game, and the spaces France had lacked began to appear.
Barcola’s goal gave France breathing room. The Paris Saint-Germain forward produced a composed finish after coming off the bench, rewarding Deschamps’ use of his attacking depth and underlining the range of options available to a squad seeking a third consecutive World Cup final. France won the tournament in 1998 and 2018 and finished runners-up to Argentina in 2022 after Mbappé scored a hat-trick in the final.
Senegal continued to push rather than retreat, and Mbaye’s angled strike in the fifth minute of stoppage time briefly revived the contest. The response was immediate. A minute later, Mbappé struck from distance, lifting the ball beyond Édouard Mendy and under the crossbar to seal the result and complete one of the defining individual performances of the opening round.
The scoreline was comfortable by the end, but Senegal’s display offered evidence that Group I will not be straightforward. Their first-half organisation, speed in transition and willingness to press France high suggested they remain capable of troubling Iraq and Norway in their remaining fixtures. The final margin owed as much to France’s superior finishing as to any sustained early control.
France’s performance raised familiar questions even in victory. The defence was stretched before the break, Mike Maignan was beaten late, and the midfield took time to impose itself. Yet the second-half response reinforced why Deschamps’ team remain among the tournament favourites: few sides possess the same capacity to change a game through one tactical adjustment and one elite forward.
Mbappé’s numbers now frame France’s campaign. At 27, he has already moved past several of football’s most celebrated World Cup scorers and is two goals short of Klose’s record. His latest milestone came in his 99th appearance for France and added another layer to a tournament career that began with the 2018 title and expanded with the 2022 Golden Boot.
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