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Kylian Mbappe etched his name into French football history Tuesday night, scoring twice to become Les Bleus' all-time leading scorer as France defeated Senegal 3-1 in their 2026 FIFA World Cup Group I opener at New York New Jersey Stadium.
The Real Madrid forward's 66th-minute opener and a stoppage-time thunderbolt from range sealed a win also featuring a goal from substitute Bradley Barcola, moving France atop their group and underscoring their status as one of the pre-tournament favorites. Ibrahim Mbaye pulled one back for Senegal deep into added time, but Mbappe had the last word with a stunning long-range finish in the 96th minute to seal the result and the record.
"I play to make history for my country and to ensure my team reaches the final and wins the World Cup," Mbappe said.
The brace brought Mbappe's international tally to 58 goals in just 99 appearances for France, moving him past Olivier Giroud, who amassed 57 goals across a much longer 137-cap career.
The milestone adds to an already staggering World Cup portfolio: Mbappe now has 14 goals in the tournament across three editions, two shy of all-time leader Miroslav Klose.
At 27, he has already surpassed French icons Thierry Henry, Antoine Griezmann, and Michel Platini on the national team charts.
Didier Deschamps, the architect of France's 2018 World Cup triumph and the coach who guided them to the final in Qatar in 2022, acknowledged his side's nerves before finding their rhythm. "It's a relief, we were a bit apprehensive, a bit tense at the start, but we were up against a good side," he said.
The match was Mbappe's 99th cap, and the occasion demanded something historic. Michael Olise, deployed centrally rather than out wide, proved the key tactical decision of the evening, repeatedly dissecting Senegal's defense before slipping Mbappe through for the opener.
The game offered little to excite the MetLife Stadium crowd through the opening 45 minutes, with the first act so uneventful that sections of supporters took to performing a Mexican wave inside the first 20 minutes.
Senegal came closest before the break: Nicolas Jackson rattled the post in the 25th minute after finding space in behind, with the rebound deflecting off goalkeeper Mike Maignan and scrambling wide. Ismaila Sarr then blazed an unmarked chance over the crossbar in the first minute of added time at the end of the half, a miss that would prove costly.
France returned from the break with renewed purpose. Olise was denied by Edouard Mendy before setting up chances for Mbappe, and when the referee waved away what appeared to be a foul on Mbappe by Sadio Mane around the hour mark, following a VAR review, France were not distracted. Minutes later, Olise found Mbappe through the heart of the defense for the breakthrough goal.
Adrien Rabiot then released Barcola, who had entered as a substitute in the 80th minute, and the Paris Saint-Germain forward composed himself to chip over Mendy for 2-0. Mbaye, the 18-year-old Senegal substitute, reduced the deficit with a far-post finish in the 90th minute before Mbappe's seal-the-deal drive from distance ended the contest.
Senegal arrived at the tournament carrying significant baggage. In January, coach Pape Thiaw's side appeared to win the Africa Cup of Nations on Moroccan soil, only for the Confederation of African Football to later strip them of the title after their players walked off the pitch in protest over a disputed stoppage-time penalty in the final.
CAF's appeals board ruled the walkout a forfeit, handing Morocco the trophy with an administrative 3-0 scoreline. Senegal's appeal of that decision remains ongoing.
It was their first competitive match since those events, and the weight was visible for long stretches at MetLife Stadium.
Mane, the veteran captain who helped coax his teammates back onto the pitch in Rabat in January, played the full 90 minutes, while Turkish-based players Ismail Jakobs of Galatasaray and Cherif Ndiaye of Samsunspor both started on the bench.
France's Ngolo Kante, who was central to the 2018 title-winning squad and now plays for Fenerbahce in Istanbul, also spent the match among the substitutes.
For Senegal, the defeat revives painful memories of their World Cup history. The Lions of Teranga's only previous appearance in the quarterfinals came in 2002, when Ilhan Mansiz struck a golden goal in extra time to send Türkiye through at Senegal's expense.
That tournament, in South Korea and Japan, was also Senegal's debut at the World Cup, and the team shocked France 1-0 in the very first group game, a result that contributed to the then-defending champions' group-stage exit.
France, now ranked second in the world to Senegal's 16th, will be wary of that history.
France's next fixture is against Iraq on June 22 before a decisive group encounter with Erling Haaland's Norway. Group I also features Senegal and Iraq.
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