Catch up on everything that happened when France met Senegal in the World Cup
France had to go through a frustrating first half before they finally came back to life and kicked off their World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Senegal at the MetLife Stadium, thanks to a brilliant second half led by Kylian Mbappé.
Important victory to keep Norway at a distance. – Norway is playing against Iraq right now.
Senegal were by far the better team before half-time and missed several golden chances to take control of the game, but Les Bleus eventually found their rhythm after the break. Mbappé scored twice and Bradley Barcola added a beautiful goal as Didier Deschamps’ side secured all three points.
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Senegal started strong
The first 45 minutes largely belonged to Senegal. France’s star-studded attack struggled to find the flow and created little creatively, while the African champions repeatedly threatened on the counter-attack.
Ismaila Sarr and Nicolas Jackson kept causing problems, and the latter came closest to scoring when Malick Diouf’s outstanding through pass sent him through alone. Jackson’s finish hit the post, bounced past Mike Maignan and strangely rolled outside – thus sparing France a massive horror visit.
Senegal should have taken the lead just before half-time. Sadio Mané broke through on the left and found Sarr six yards from goal, but the Crystal Palace winger knocked the ball over the crossbar with an open goal in front of him.
France woke up in the second half
France came out of the dressing room with far greater intensity after the break. Désiré Doué fired a shot that went just wide, before Michael Olise and Mbappé both forced Édouard Mendy into important saves as the pressure began to build.
The biggest controversy of the match came shortly after the hour mark, when Mbappé appeared to be felled by Mané inside the penalty area. Despite a thorough VAR review, referee Alireza Faghani chose not to award a penalty, which left the French captain visibly frustrated.
The decision only seemed to inspire Mbappé further. Four minutes later, France finally broke the deadlock.
Olise hit a perfectly weighted pass into the right side of the penalty area, and Mbappé timed his run perfectly before steering a first-touch finish past Mendy and into the far corner.
The goal brought France to life and marked Mbappé’s 57th international goal, equalling Olivier Giroud as the nation’s all-time top scorer.
Les Bleus crushed comeback hopes
Senegal thought they had responded immediately when Jackson hammered the ball into the net from inside the box, but the cheers were quickly called off for offside. France continued to threaten, eventually doubling their lead with eight minutes left to play.
Adrien Rabiot hit a magnificent through pass that shattered the Senegal defence, allowing Bradley Barcola to slide in from the left before playfully lifting the finish over the onrushing Mendy to make it 2-0.
It seemed to decide the game, but there was still to be late drama. Senegal reduced the deficit in injury time when substitute Ibrahim Mbaye dribbled past his marker and fired a shot that Maignan only got his fingertips on before the ball went into the net.
However, any hope of a dramatic comeback was dashed almost immediately. Mbappé picked up the ball 35 yards from goal and hammered in perhaps the tournament’s finest goal so far.
The goal gave France the win they needed to top the group early and send a clear signal to the rest of the championship.
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