France came from a frustrating first-half display to begin their World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Senegal at MetLife Stadium, powered by a brilliant second-half response from Kylian Mbappe.
Senegal were the better side before the break and squandered several chances to take control, but Les Bleus eventually found their rhythm after half-time, with Mbappe scoring twice and Bradley Barcola adding a fine second goal as Didier Deschamps’ side secured all three points.
Senegal start strong
The opening 45 minutes belonged largely to Senegal. France’s star-studded attack struggled to click into gear, producing very little creativity while the African champions repeatedly threatened on the counter.
Ismaila Sarr and Nicolas Jackson both caused problems, with the latter coming closest when Malick Diouf’s excellent throughball sent him racing clear. Jackson’s effort struck the post, bounced off Mike Maignan and somehow rolled wide, sparing France a major scare.
Senegal should have gone ahead moments before the interval. Sadio Mane burst clear down the left and found Sarr six yards from goal, but the Crystal Palace winger blazed over the crossbar with the goal at his mercy.
France wake up in second half
France emerged with far greater urgency after the restart. Desire Doue fired narrowly wide before Michael Olise and Mbappe both forced Edouard Mendy into important saves as the pressure began to build.
The game’s biggest controversy arrived shortly after the hour mark when Mbappe appeared to be clipped by Mane inside the area. Despite an extensive VAR review, referee Alireza Faghani decided against awarding a penalty, leaving the French captain visibly frustrated.
The decision only seemed to inspire Mbappe further. Four minutes later, France finally broke the deadlock.
Olise threaded a perfectly weighted pass into the right side of the penalty area and Mbappe timed his run to perfection before guiding a first-time finish beyond Mendy and into the far corner.
The goal brought France to life and marked Mbappe’s 57th international goal, drawing him level with Olivier Giroud as the nation’s all-time leading scorer.
Les Bleus extinguish comeback hopes
Senegal thought they had responded almost immediately when Jackson smashed home from inside the area, but celebrations were cut short by an offside flag. France continued to look dangerous and eventually doubled their advantage with eight minutes remaining.
Adrien Rabiot produced a magnificent throughball that split the Senegal defence, allowing Bradley Barcola to drift in from the left before delicately lifting his finish over the advancing Mendy to make it 2-0.
That appeared to settle the contest, but there was still late drama to come. Senegal pulled a goal back in stoppage time when substitute Ibrahim Mbaye skipped past his marker and fired beyond Maignan, whose hand could only help the ball into the net.
Any hopes of a dramatic comeback were extinguished almost immediately, however, when Mbappe picked the ball up 35 yards from goal and lashed home the goal of the tournament so far.
It gave France the win they wanted to top their group early on and lay out a marker for the rest of the competition.
