Mbappé brace powers France past Senegal 3-1 in World Cup opener, makes history as Les Bleus' all-time top scorer
Kylian Mbappé struck twice as France launched their World Cup 2026 campaign with a 3-1 win over Senegal in New Jersey, overtaking every Frenchman to become the nation's all-time top scorer with 58 goals.
A long-awaited rematch
Twenty-four years after Senegal stunned France in their World Cup debut, the teams met again on the opening day of Group I. Didier Deschamps dismissed talk of revenge, noting most of his squad was not yet born in 2002. Senegal coach Pape Thiaw, invoking the memory of 2002 mentor Bruno Metsu, insisted a win "wouldn't be a surprise".
There is no revenge in football.
Beating France wouldn't be a surprise.
First-half stalemate
Senegal carried the brighter intent early on, with Nicolas Jackson hitting the post midway through the half and Ismaila Sarr missing a gilt-edged chance seconds before the interval. France, fielding an attack packed with Mbappé, Dembélé, Olise and Doué, produced only one harmless shot on target from Dembélé. The positional attack was slow and predictable, and the half ended goalless.
Mbappé breaks the deadlock
Everything changed after the restart. A VAR check for a possible penalty on Mbappé, brought down by Sadio Mané, was waved away just before the hour, but the French captain was not to be denied. Michael Olise, on his World Cup debut, threaded a pass through the Senegalese back line and Mbappé fired home to make it 1-0. The goal was recorded in the 66th minute by one match report and the 68th by another.
Late drama and history
Senegal thought they had equalised immediately through Jackson, only for the flag to go up for offside. France punished them on the break when Adrien Rabiot released Bradley Barcola, who dinked a classy finish over Édouard Mendy in the 82nd minute. Substitute Ibrahim Mbaye, 18, pulled one back in the fifth minute of added time with a solo effort, but Mbappé responded with a 25-metre missile in the sixth added minute to seal a 3-1 victory. The brace took him to 58 international goals, making him France's outright top scorer, and left him two goals shy of Miroslav Klose's all-time World Cup record.
Group outlook and next steps
France top Group I pending the later clash between Iraq and Norway. Deschamps, who is taking charge of his last World Cup, next faces Iraq on 22 June, then Norway on 26 June. Senegal take the reverse path, meeting Norway on 23 June and Iraq on 26 June, with the group's remaining fixtures split between venues in the United States and Toronto, Canada.
