France 3-1 Senegal: Kylian Mbappé was the trump card in Les Bleus’ opener, with the Real Madrid striker overcoming the frustration of a penalty to score his second goal of the World Cup.
Kylian Mbappé scores France’s winning goal in New York
France opened the World Cup with Kylian Mbappé’s victory against Senegal, despite not being at a disadvantage in the first half.
Les Bleus are aiming to reach the finals for the third year in a row, but things didn’t go as planned against the African nation, one of North America’s dark horses. France boasted one of the best attacking lines in the world, with Mbappé, Ousmane Demebé, Michael Oliseh and Desiree Douye tasked with taking the club’s form onto the international stage.
But Senegal, who are fighting in court to secure the title of African champions, proved they will remain in trouble for as long as they remain in the World Cup, even if Mbappé’s two goals in the second half ultimately sealed the match.
Nicholas Jackson, looking to take advantage of the high French defensive line, dived on the ball over the top and calmly fired a shot, but his shot hit the post and Mike Maignan, but missed the back of the goal.
Senegal will be even more disappointed in not being able to take the lead in the dressing room at half-time. Ismaila Sarr missed a great chance when he saw his shot from six yards go over the bar and it looked like it would be hard to miss.
France certainly woke up in the second half, with Michael Olisset’s shot blocked by Edouard Mendy. Kylian Mbappé was then involved in one of the match’s flashpoints when he fell under a lunge from Senegal’s Sadio Mane. The referee waved off the appeal, but VAR advised him to look at the screen, but the referee stuck to his original decision, only to shock MetLife Stadium.
Unable to fight off the Real Madrid man forever, the 2022 Golden Boot winner made a sensational run through the box to score his first goal.
Jackson thought he could score the equalizer for the African nation just minutes later. The Senegalese frontman added some poison with a volley from an acute angle, but his offside flag was disallowed.
Sadio Mane’s challenge on Kylian Mbappe went unpunished
France were able to return to the bench and watch the game as PSG ace Bradley Barcola doubled Les Bleus’ lead with a composed finish, which would prove crucial for Senegal to pull one back in stoppage time.
PSG teenager Ibrahim Mbaye scored a stunning solo goal to inject hope into Senegal’s effort, but Mbappe scored his second goal within seconds of the restart. The former Parisian struck the ball and restored France’s two-goal lead. As France starts the World Cup with a win, here are five stories from New York.
1. The charming Mbappe
Just minutes after the 2018 World Cup winner was denied a penalty, he put the difficult night behind him and began France’s campaign. The former PSG man struggled to take the lead in the final third, but showed his speed and took the lead.
Real Madrid star produced a smart finish to break the deadlock
The World Cup stage is where the 27-year-old’s abilities are often at their best, having only played in the final of his two appearances. Mbappé’s goal moved him level with Olivier Giroud as France’s all-time top scorer. He only needed stoppage time to make his mark alone and did so in impressive fashion.
2. The referee takes a firm stance.
If Alireza Faghani’s name was relatively unknown on Tuesday morning, it certainly didn’t come up that night. Premier League viewers will know that whenever the referee goes to the screen, he ends up changing the original decision.
This is what the entire New York crown expected to happen when the Australian was advised to reconsider Mane’s challenge to Mbappé. After doing so, he pointed to the final third, which appeared to point to the penalty spot, but instead pointed to the corner he had originally awarded. Fagani said that Mbappé had initiated the contact, but the call was highly controversial.
Nicholas Jackson’s second-half tying goal was ruled out for an offside flag.
3. Two sides of France
France were as dominant as Spain and France after the first 45 minutes. Spain, Brazil and Belgium looked set to continue the trend of favorites who were unable to play their best in the opening games, but failed to even start the tournament with a win.
Didier Deschamps is not known for rocketing teams during team negotiations, but he must have done something that had a similar impact. Les Blues looked different in the second half, showing incredible speed, intention, movement and the depth of the team that had long been their greatest weapon.
4. Timeless mane
For the better part of this decade, Mane has been Senegal’s talisman. The former Liverpool man showed absolute panache during his time at Anfield, combining speed, skill and aggression to form one of Europe’s great front lines.
Ismaila Sarr missed a great chance from close range
His energy, his endless running, and his inhuman ability to just keep going are what made him an elite athlete. His speed of work matched his quality – that’s the Senegalese way. However, with the team’s main attacking player now 34 years old and playing outside of Europe, questions remain as to how long Mane will be asked to play like he did 10 years ago. He is doing his best, but Senegal need to consider managing their elite players if they want to advance in this competition.
5. Fixtures full of nostalgia
Twenty-four years ago, France rocketed to the World Cup as border royalty following their successes in 1998 and 2000, only to be quickly brought back down to earth by one of the biggest shocks of modern times. Former Fulham player Papa Bouba Diop scored the winning goal for Senegal.
There will be no repeat of this victory, but Chelsea’s Jackson threatened to irritate France’s nerves after seeing his first-half shot hit the post. This result in 2002 was seen as a shock, marking the very end of the era of French victory. Just two years later, France would lose to Greece in the Euros.
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