NEW JERSEY, United States, June 16 (Xinhua) -- Despite a sluggish first-half display, France found its rhythm after the break to beat Senegal 3-1 in its FIFA World Cup 2026 Group I opener here on Tuesday. France captain Kylian Mbappe scored twice to move into joint third place on the tournament's all-time scoring list.
Fielding a star-studded attacking lineup featuring Mbappe, Michael Olise, Desire Doue and Ballon d'Or winner Ousmane Dembele, France struggled to impose itself in front of a crowd of 80,545 at New York New Jersey Stadium.
Senegal looked the more dangerous side before halftime and came close to scoring first, but Nicolas Jackson struck the post and Ismaila Sarr squandered a promising opportunity late in the first half as both teams went into the break level at 0-0.
France, the 2018 world champion and runner-up in Qatar four years later, emerged with greater urgency after the restart and finally broke the deadlock in the 66th minute. Olise threaded a perfectly weighted pass into the path of Mbappe, who turned sharply and fired a low shot into the far corner to make it 1-0.
France doubled its advantage in the 82nd minute when Doue slipped a pass through the Senegal defense and substitute Bradley Barcola, who was on the pitch for only two minutes, raced clear down the right flank. The winger calmly lifted the ball over the advancing goalkeeper to put France 2-0 ahead.
Senegal pulled a goal back in the fifth minute of stoppage time through Ibrahim Mbaye, who drilled a powerful shot into the net from the right side of the penalty area.
One minute later, Mbappe struck again from near the edge of the box, restoring France's two-goal cushion and sealing a 3-1 victory.
Mbappe's brace took his World Cup tally to 14 goals, drawing level with German legend Gerd Muller in third place on the tournament's all-time scoring chart. The 27-year-old now trails only Brazil's Ronaldo (15) and record-holder Miroslav Klose from Germany (16). ■
