Mbappé Double Fires France Past Senegal In World Cup Opener

France opened their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a commanding 3-1 victory over Senegal, with captain Kylian Mbappé scoring twice in a lively match that came to life after the halftime break.

Senegal matched the 2022 runners-up for long spells and even struck the woodwork in the first half when Nicolas Jackson rattled the post. The West Africans also created several openings through Ismaïla Sarr and Sadio Mané, but France gradually tightened their grip on proceedings.

The breakthrough finally arrived in the 66th minute. A slick move carved open the Senegal defence and Mbappé applied the finishing touch, drilling a low effort beyond goalkeeper Édouard Mendy to put France ahead.

Senegal thought they had found a route back into the match shortly afterwards when Jackson put the ball in the net, only for the effort to be ruled out for offside. France made the most of that reprieve and doubled their lead eight minutes from time. Adrien Rabiot slipped a precise pass into the path of Bradley Barcola, who calmly chipped Mendy to make it 2-0.

The closing stages produced more drama in front of a crowd of 80,545. Substitute Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back for Senegal deep into stoppage time with a composed finish after a determined solo run.

Any hopes of a late comeback were quickly ended. Mbappé capped an impressive display with a stunning long-range strike in the dying moments, sending the ball into the top corner to seal France’s 3-1 win and an ideal start to their World Cup journey.