World Cup favourites France opened their campaign at the ongoing tournament with a 3-1 win over Senegal in their group I opener on Tuesday night.
After a goalless first half in New Jersey, the game came alive in the second half when Kylian Mbappe scored to put them ahead. Bradley Barcola then added a second few minutes after coming on.
Ibrahim Mbaye gave Senegal hope in stoppage-time, but Mbappe scored once again to seal a dominant win for France.
The win leaves France in good position heading into their final two group matches, while Senegal must regroup to avoid a shock exit.
Goalless first half in New Jersey
In one of the toughest group stage games of the World Cup, African heavyweights Senegal faced off against France, who had reached the final of the last two World Cup, winning the 2018 edition.
The game started off end-to-end, but Senegal had the first real sniff of goal but Nicolas Jackson’s effort struck the goal post. Ismaila Sarr also wasted another goalscoring chance when he blazed over from inside the area as the first half ended goalless.
Mbappe makes history as France seal victory
France switched things in the second half with Dembele moving to the wings and Olise playing through the middle and the switch worked well as Desire Doue flashed an attempt off target just a few minutes after the restart.
Michael Olise then had an attempt thwarted by Edouard Mendy, before France were denied a controversial penalty kick. It appeared as if Sadio Mane brought down Kylian Mbappe in the area and despite reviewing the incident on the pitchside monitor, the referee stuck with his original decision of no penalty.
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The warning signs were coming and France went ahead when Mbappe fired in past Mendy after a brilliant pass from Olise in the 66th minute.
It was his 13th goal in the World Cup, moving level with Lionel Messi and past Pele, while he also equalled Olivier Giroud on 57, as the joint all-time topscorer for the French national team.
Jackson had the ball in the net moments later, but the strike was correctly ruled out for offside before Barcola, who had come on only two minutes earlier dinked the ball over Mendy after a well weighted pass from Adrien Rabiot to double the lead.
Mbaye then scored a consolation for Senegal, giving them little hope to make the scoreline 2-1 heading into the final few minutes of the game.
However, the man of the moment – Mbappe struck again to make it 3-1, sealing a dominant win for France on the night. The goal moved him up to 58 for the national team, putting him above Giroud on the all-time scoring charts and up to 14 in the World Cup, just two behind Miroslav Klose in the World Cup record.
Key Stats
Ball Possession: France 54% – 46% Senegal
Total Shots: France 11 – 6 Senegal
Shots on target: France 8 – 2 Senegal
Pass Accuracy: France 88% – 86% Senegal
Corners: France 6 – 4 Senegal
What Next?
France are up against Iraq in their next match and could seal their place in the Round of 32 with a win. Meanwhile, Senegal face Norway hoping to gain their first points of the tournament.
