World Cup: France begin campaign with victory as Mbappé makes history

France opened their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a hard-fought 3-1 victory over Senegal at the MetLife Stadium in New Jersey on Tuesday evening. Didier Deschamps’ side endured a difficult first half against the African champions but improved significantly after the break to secure three valuable points in their opening Group I fixture.

Mbappé breaks France goalscoring record

After a tense opening period in which Senegal created the better chances, France found another gear in the second half. Michael Olise provided the breakthrough, slipping a precise pass through to Kylian Mbappé, who finished beyond Édouard Mendy in the 66th minute.

The advantage was doubled eight minutes from time when substitute Bradley Barcola raced onto Adrien Rabiot’s perfectly weighted pass and coolly lifted his finish over Mendy. Senegal pulled a goal back through Paris Saint-Germain's Ibrahim Mbaye deep into stoppage time, but Mbappé responded almost immediately with a spectacular strike from distance to restore France’s two-goal cushion and confirm the victory in style. 

Mbappé’s brace saw him move onto 58 goals for France, surpassing Olivier Giroud to become the outright leading scorer in the national team’s history. The Real Madrid forward also took his World Cup tally to 14 goals, further cementing his status among the competition’s greatest goalscorers.

After the match, Deschamps admitted his side had struggled to settle into the occasion before improving after the interval. “It’s a relief. There was a bit of apprehension and tension. We were up against a good team as well. Once we were able to play more freely, after changing the positions of Ousmane Dembélé and Michael Olise, things improved. Bradley Barcola also made a real impact,” said the France manager to BeIN Sport. 

France will now face Iraq in their second group-stage match, while Senegal take on Norway as both teams continue their quest for a place in the knockout rounds.

Key stats 

• Kylian Mbappé became the first captain in France history to score a brace at a FIFA World Cup.
• The Real Madrid forward is now France's all-time leading goalscorer with 58 goals, moving ahead of Olivier Giroud.
• Mbappé is the first France captain to score at a World Cup since Zinedine Zidane against Italy in the 2006 final.
• France have now won all seven of their opening matches at major tournaments under Didier Deschamps (World Cups and UEFA European Championships).
• Mbappé has scored each of his last 13 World Cup goals after the 60th minute.
• With 19 goal contributions (15 goals, 4 assists), Mbappé is now France's most decisive player in major tournaments (World Cups and Euros combined), ahead of Antoine Griezmann (18) and Michel Platini (18).
• Senegal substitute Ibrahim Mbaye became the fourth-youngest goalscorer in FIFA World Cup history at 18 years and 143 days, behind Pelé, Manuel Rosas and Gavi.

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