Susan Abayomi
Kylian Mbappé scored twice to lead France past Senegal 3-1 on Monday, June 16, 2026, at New York New Jersey Stadium as Les Bleus opened their Group I campaign at the 2026 World Cup. The match drew more than 80,000 fans and carried extra weight because Senegal had famously beaten France 1-0 in the 2002 World Cup opener, a result that still lingers in French football memory. This time France controlled the result late, but only after a tense first half in which Senegal created the better chances.
The opening 45 minutes belonged to the African champions. Nicolas Jackson rattled the post in the 25th minute when his low drive deflected off Mike Maignan’s heel and out for a corner, and Ismaïla Sarr missed a golden chance just before the break when he blasted Sadio Mané’s cross over the bar from six yards. France struggled to find rhythm, with Mbappé subdued and misplacing simple passes against a disciplined Senegal back line that sat deep and denied him space. Didier Deschamps had Aurélien Tchouaméni dropping between the center backs, which left Adrien Rabiot isolated and forced France to rely on wide play through Désiré Doué and Michael Olise or long balls aimed at Mbappé.
France emerged sharper after halftime and the game turned on Mbappé’s movement in the 66th minute. Olise picked the ball up on the right, threaded a low diagonal between Senegal’s defenders, and Mbappé timed his run perfectly to slide a first-time finish across Édouard Mendy into the far corner for 1-0. It was his 13th World Cup goal and his 57th for France, tying Olivier Giroud’s all-time national record. Deschamps freshened the attack by sending on Bradley Barcola for Ousmane Dembélé in the 80th minute, and the substitute needed only two minutes to make an impact when Rabiot’s through ball sent him clear to lift a composed chip over Mendy for 2-0.
Senegal refused to go quietly and set up a nervy finish in stoppage time. Eighteen-year-old Ibrahim Mbaye beat Theo Hernandez on the dribble in the 95th minute before smashing a shot into the top corner to cut the deficit to 2-1. But any hope of a comeback lasted barely a minute. Straight from the restart, Mbappé collected the ball 30 yards out, turned, and unleashed a spectacular strike into the top left corner to seal the 3-1 win in the 96th minute. The goal was his 14th at World Cups and his 58th in 99 appearances for France, breaking Giroud’s record to make him the country’s all-time leading scorer.
The brace also moved Mbappé into third place on the men’s World Cup scoring list, behind only Miroslav Klose with 16 and Ronaldo with 15. He celebrated the record-tying goal with a flute-playing gesture, a nod to his childhood, and left the pitch having once again delivered when France needed him most. For Senegal, the result was harsh after a disciplined first half, with Jackson’s disallowed goal for offside and Sarr’s miss proving costly. France now sit on three points in Group I and face Iraq on June 22, while Senegal will look to rebound knowing they troubled the 2022 runners-up for long stretches.
