📹 Amid controversy, Mbappé overtakes Pelé and Messi, nears World Cup reign | OneFootball

France opened their 2026 FIFA World Cup campaign with a 3-1 win over Senegal this Tuesday (16).

The victory for Les Bleus was hard-fought and built with plenty of sweat, quite literally. After all, the sun was relentless in New Jersey, United States.

In addition to the difficulty imposed by Senegal, France’s stars, such as Olise, Doué, and Mbappé, took time to find their rhythm and missed good chances in the first half.

But the Real Madrid star showed up in the second half to bring relief to the current world runners-up, when he received a 🔞 pass from Olise in the box and finished first-time to open the scoring.

Mbappé then added another in stoppage time to become the all-time top scorer in France national team history with 58 goals in 99 matches, surpassing Olivier Giroud.

PSG gem Barcola also found the net against Senegal. Then, in stoppage time, Mbaye pulled one back for Senegal with a stunner, and Mbappé responded in kind with a rocket from outside the box into the top corner.

👑 King of the World Cup

With his two goals, Mbappé moved past Pelé (12 goals), Lionel Messi, and Justin Fontaine (13 goals) to draw level with Germany’s Gerd Müller on 14 goals in the all-time World Cup scoring charts.

The French star is now chasing Brazil’s Ronaldo Fenômeno (15 goals) and Germany’s Miroslav Klose (16 goals) to establish his “reign” at the World Cup.

📹 Missing the Brasileirão? There’s refereeing controversy here too!

Before opening the scoring, France were appealing for a penalty on Mbappé.

On the play, the referee did not call a foul for Sadio Mané’s sliding challenge on the Real Madrid star.

So, what do you think? Would you have given the penalty, or did Mbappé dive? Share your opinion in the comments!

🚦 How it stands

With their first three points, France move to the top of Group I, leaving Senegal at the bottom.

Iraq and Norway also face off this Tuesday (16), at 7 p.m. Brasília time.

In the second round, Les Bleus will face Iraq next Monday (22), while Haaland & Co. take on Senegal on the same day.

This article was translated into English by Artificial Intelligence. You can read the original version in 🇧🇷 here.

📸 Dan Mullan - 2026 Getty Images