On a sun-drenched 25-degree Celsius afternoon at New Jersey’s MetLife Stadium, defending World Cup finalist France pulled off a dramatic second-half comeback to defeat Senegal 3-1 in its Group I opening match, powered by a two-goal masterclass from global superstar Kylian Mbappé that cemented his place among World Cup’s all-time greats.
The match got off to a shockingly slow and lopsided start, with France looking uncharacteristically tentative. Les Bleus managed just one shot to Senegal’s five in the first 45 minutes, a performance defender William Saliba openly admitted was underwhelming. “In the first half, we weren’t good, they were better than us,” Saliba said. Mbappé, the team’s attacking linchpin, recorded only 14 touches — fewer than any other player on the pitch — and the half ended goalless, with Senegal’s Nicolas Jackson coming inches from opening the scoring when his 25th-minute effort struck the post, bounced off France goalkeeper Mike Maignan’s heel and rolled out of play.
Whatever France coach Didier Deschamps said at halftime sparked an immediate turnaround. The 2018 and 2022 World Cup finalists took full control after the break, outshooting Senegal 10-1, and broke the deadlock in the 66th minute through Mbappé’s trademark clinical finishing. The forward burst past Senegal captain Kalidou Koulibaly, collected a diagonal pass from Michael Olise, and slotted the ball past goalkeeper Édouard Mendy from just outside the six-yard box to put France ahead.
Substitute Bradley Barcola doubled the advantage just two minutes after entering the pitch in the 80th minute, latching onto a perfectly weighted through ball from Adrien Rabiot and lifting a cool finish over Mendy to net his fourth international goal. Senegal pulled one back five minutes into stoppage time when forward Ibrahim Mbaye converted an angled shot, but Mbappé answered immediately a minute later with a stunning long-range strike that sailed over Mendy’s outstretched arm and nestled just under the crossbar to seal the 3-1 result.
The two goals pushed Mbappé’s career World Cup tally to 14, moving him past Brazilian legend Pelé, Argentina’s Lionel Messi and French icon Just Fontaine into a tie for third place with Germany’s Gerd Müller on the all-time World Cup scoring list. Only Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16) and Brazil’s Ronaldo (15) now sit ahead of the 25-year-old. He also set a new French national team record with 58 international goals, passing former striker Olivier Giroud by one.
Off the pitch, the match faced unusual disruptions: the U.S. government denied visas for hundreds of Senegal supporters, leaving the Lions of Teranga’s fanbase restricted to just a few small sections in the stadium’s southwest corner, even as the overall crowd of 80,545 came just short of a sellout. Ticket prices dropped dramatically in the hours before kickoff, falling as low as $69 on FIFA’s official resale platform, down from the original $220 to $620 price point when tickets first went on sale in December.
Looking ahead to Group I play, France will next face Iraq in Philadelphia on Monday, before wrapping up its first-round schedule against Norway on June 26 in Foxborough, Massachusetts. Senegal will take on Norway at MetLife Stadium on Monday, before closing out group play against Iraq in Toronto. Deschamps acknowledged the team’s rocky start but celebrated the valuable opening three points. “It’s relief. We did have some apprehension,” Deschamps said through a translator. “It’s always great to start with a win. It’s not decisive, but it’s good to start in that way.” The result keeps France on track to pursue its historic bid for a third consecutive World Cup final appearance.