France overcomes slow start, beats Senegal behind Kylian Mbappé brace

Off the pace from the opening kickoff, France overcame a sluggish start, defeating Senegal 3-1 in East Rutherford, New Jersey to open their 2026 World Cup.

Boasting an imposing front four, Les Bleus struggled out of the gate, with Senegal's high press and potent threat on the counterattack making things difficult for Didier Deschamps' side, but a second-half brace from Kylian Mbappé got the French back to business.

Nicolas Jackson had two dangerous chances to give Senegal the lead in the first half, hitting the post before air-mailing Mike Maignan's goal from inside 10 yards out on the stroke of halftime. By contrast, France had one shot as a team the entire first half, mustering just 0.02 expected goals (xG).

The second half saw the energy shift, with France coming alive and bringing the game to the Senegalese. After not being awarded a penalty following Sadio Mané's strong tackle on him in the box, Mbappé opened his account for the summer with the 13th World Cup goal of his career.

PSG forward Bradley Barcola doubled the lead not long after coming off the bench, before an Mbappe wonder goal in the 96th minute saw the two-time world champions hold on to open their 2026 World Cup campaign with three points.

A slow start for the former champions

One of the consensus favorites to win the entire tournament, France began their 2026 World Cup campaign in less than ideal fashion, with Senegal applying immense pressure from the opening kickoff and looking the better side early on.

The French struggled to maintain longer spells of possession, with errant passes and miscommunications between players gifting Senegal chances, and they nearly scored on multiple occasions.

Chelsea striker Nicolas Jackson, who returned from his loan with Bayern Munich this June, could have had a hat-trick in this game. The 24-year-old squandered two golden opportunities in the first half, first hitting the post from inside the box on 25 minutes, and then, somehow, missing the goal entirely from inside eight yards just before halftime.

As a squad, Senegal managed to fire off five shots, though only one forced a save from Mike Maignan in goal. Commanding just 44% of possession, the Senegalese made great work of their pace, posing the greatest threat on the counterattack across both halves of play.

France, for their part, looked like a different side in the second half than the one that came out to start the match, finishing the first 45 with just one shot and three total touches inside the Senegal penalty area. Ousmane Dembélé had a forgetful outing in attacking midfield, struggling to link the midfield and attacking lines before being subbed off in the second half.

Once the halftime interval rolled around, France had an opportunity to settle down and regroup for a strong showing in the second 45; and that's exactly what happened.

The second half saw France take the field with much higher levels of confidence and composure, with Mbappé and Michael Olise dictating the flow of the match with the ball at their feet. Taking 10 total shots in the second half, eight found the target, as France gave Senegal a taste of their own medicine.

Mbappé thought he earned the chance to break the deadlock from the penalty spot in the 59th minute after he was chopped down inside the Senegal penalty area by Sadio Mané. The replay on MetLife Stadium's big screens seemed obvious enough, but referee Alireza Faghani wasn't convinced.

VAR reviewed the decision and encouraged Faghani to take another look at the pitchside monitor. He did, but upheld his original decision as he believed Mbappé instigated the contract with Mane before going to ground.

A controversial decision, one that would've made the rounds had France not pulled out the victory, but ultimately meant nothing as Mbappé found the net barely five minutes later, slotting home a brilliant ball played in behind by Olise.

Senegal thought they answered through Nicolas Jackson, who thrashed a half-volley past Maignan in the 80th minute, but was deemed offside by the assistant referee.

But by that point, the momentum had firmly swung in France's favor, as Bradley Barcola, who'd just come on for his PSG teammate Dembélé, sealed all three points with a cheeky chip over Mendy, his first World Cup goal for France.

Credit where credit is due, however, as Senegal didn't go quietly. PSG forward Ibrahim Mbaye marked his first World Cup appearance with a venomous strike past Maignan in stoppage time, the deflecting off the keeper's hands on the way in, but it was too little too late for Les Lions de la Téranga.

The France fans in attendance, who made up the majority of the 80,565 at NY/NJ Stadium, were treated to a stoppage-time stunner to cap off the stellar second-half performance by Les Bleus.

Scoring his 14th World Cup goal, Mbappe picked up the ball 30 yards from goal, before driving forward and launching an effort into the top-right corner past Mendy from a mile out.

An early contender for goal of the tournament, Mbappe now sits in a tie for third on the all-time World Cup goalscoring charts, even with Germany's Gerd Müller, one behind Brazil's Ronaldo Nazario, and two behind the all-time leading World Cup scorer, Germany's Miroslav Klose.

France will continue their quest for a third World Cup trophy on Monday, June 22nd, when they play Iraq in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania.

Senegal will be right back at it in East Rutherford, New Jersey, on that same day, facing Erling Haaland and Norway.