Mbappé double leads France past Senegal 3-1 in World Cup opener

Kylian Mbappé scored twice as France opened their 2026 World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Senegal on Tuesday at the New York New Jersey Stadium in East Rutherford. Michael Olise set up the breakthrough, and substitute Bradley Barcola added a late second as Didier Deschamps’ side recovered from a difficult first half. Match officials recorded a crowd of 80,545 for the Group I fixture.

France struggled for rhythm before the break as Senegal created the clearer openings. Nicolas Jackson struck the post on 25 minutes on the counter-attack, and Ismaila Sarr fired over in first-half stoppage time in a miss that proved costly.

Deschamps’ interval adjustments shifted the balance, with France increasing the tempo after the restart. Olise tested Edouard Mendy and then became central to the move that finally broke the deadlock.

Mbappé put France ahead on 66 minutes when Olise slipped a pass into his path and the forward finished from inside the penalty area for 1-0. France maintained the pressure and made it 2-0 late on when Adrien Rabiot released Barcola to run through and score.

Senegal replied in stoppage time through substitute Ibrahim Mbaye, but Mbappé had the final word with a long-range strike in the 96th minute to restore a two-goal cushion and seal the 3-1 result.

Mbappé hits 58 goals for France

Officials’ match data said Mbappé’s double took him to 58 international goals in his 99th appearance, making him France’s all-time leading men’s scorer. The 27-year-old also moved his World Cup goals tally to 14, two behind all-time leader Miroslav Klose.

France are among the pre-tournament favourites and will expect to build momentum after negotiating what became an awkward opening test. Senegal’s first-half performance underlined their ability to make Group I uncomfortable for any opponent, even if they lacked the final touch in front of goal.

Group I: Iraq next for France

France’s next match is against Iraq before they face Norway. Senegal, meanwhile, will look to sharpen their finishing as the group campaign continues.

France will take encouragement from the second-half improvement, but the upcoming fixtures should provide a clearer gauge of consistency as Group I begins to take shape.