EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — Kylian Mbappé scored twice and Bradley Barcola added a second-half goal as France defeated Senegal 3-1 in their FIFA World Cup opener on Tuesday. The trio of second-half strikes turned a scoreless first half into a decisive victory for Les Bleus.
France struggled in the opening 45 minutes, with a star-studded attack failing to click and producing just two shots, both off target, for an expected-goals figure of 0.06 at the break. Senegal created the better opportunities early on through Nicolas Jackson and Ismaïla Sarr, according to Gabriele Marcotti.
Manager Didier Deschamps reshuffled his front four after halftime, moving Michael Olise into a more central role and pushing Ousmane Dembélé wide. The change paid off when Olise slid a defense-splitting pass to Mbappé, who beat Édouard Mendy to open the scoring. Barcola followed with a delicate dink finish from an Adrien Rabiot assist, and a late long-range strike from Mbappé sealed the 3-1 outcome, Marcotti wrote. Senegal substitute Ibrahim Mbaye had pulled one back deep in injury time after beating Theo Hernández on a counter.
A penalty appeal for an apparent Sadio Mané challenge on Mbappé was reviewed but not awarded. Referee Alireza Faghani initially signaled for a goal kick, was sent to the VAR monitor by official Shaun Evans, and subsequently stood by his decision, Julien Laurens reported. Laurens noted the incident as an example of a referee reaching an independent conclusion after VAR intervention.
Mbappé’s brace moved him to historic figures: 58 goals in 99 caps and 14 goals in 15 World Cup appearances, making him France’s all-time leading scorer and France’s top World Cup scorer, Marcotti wrote. At 27, he now sits two goals behind Miroslav Klose’s overall World Cup record. The striker’s long embrace with Deschamps after his second goal underscored their rapport; Julien Laurens noted that Deschamps will step down as France coach after this tournament.
