France 3-1 Senegal: Mbappé breaks goalscoring record as France win opener | OneFootball

Jack Buchanan, Senior reporter

Standings provided bySofascore

Kylian Mbappé broke France’s all-time scoring record with a stunning brace as Didier Dechamp’s farewell World Cup got off to a flyer with a 3-1 win over Senegal.

The Real Madrid striker opened the scoring in the 65th minute, spinning in behind the Senegalese defence before tucking the ball into the far corner, and powered home a brilliant effort in injury time which saw him reach 58 goals to overtake Olivier Giroud.

Bradley Barcola came off the bench to make an instant impact, adding a second goal for his side by lifting the ball over Édouard Mendy.

Teenager Ibrahim Mbaye gave Senegal a brief lifeline in the 95th minute, however that was quickly squashed by Mbappé’s outstanding second.

As It Happened

It was a familiar attack for both sides, with France fielding Mbappé, Michael Olise, Ousmane Dembélé and Désiré Doué as a front four. Meanwhile, Senegal’s frontline was made up of Sadio Mané, Jackson and Ismaïla Sarr.

It was Senegal who almost got off to the dream start, but Theo Hernández was on hand to head away a dangerous cross. A confusing corner followed, which saw the whistle blown multiple times for jostling between Aurélien Tchouaméni and Jackson, before Mike Maignan went down after being stepped on by his teammate.

Sarr raced through the French defence in the 6th minute, but some excellent recovery work from Dayot Upamecano saw his shot blocked. The next real piece of action, France’s first shot, came in the 19th minute, when Dembélé took aim from outside the area, but his effort was also blocked.

Jackson came desperately close to opening the scoring in the 24th minute, when a quick break saw the forward strike the upright before the ball bounced back off Maignan and away for a corner, which was subsequently cleared.

Mané registered the first shot on target of the match just six minutes before half-time, taking on a long-range effort that was comfortably caught by Maignan. France broke quickly but couldn’t make the most of the counterattack.

Koulibaly held strong at the heart of the Senegalese defence in the final minutes of the first half, heading away a free-kick and thwarting a dangerous Mbappé run into the penalty area. The best chance of the half came with the last kick, when Sarr somehow fired his volley over the bar from just a few yards out, bringing a cagey first 45 to a close.

France came out of the traps fast in the second half, when Doué fired narrowly wide from outside the area after just 90 seconds. Olise got in on the action minutes later, but his shot was well saved by Mendy, who raced off his line to meet the forward.

In the 55th minute, Sarr tried to carve out a gap for Jackson in behind the defence, but he slightly overplayed the pass. A thrilling start to the second half continued when Mbappé’s close-range shot was smothered by Mendy.

Mbappé was seemingly brought down inside the penalty area by Mané shortly before the hour mark. Today’s referee, Alireza Faghani, initially gave a corner and stuck with this decision following VAR review to the surprise of many, most of all the French centre-forward.

They got their goal five minutes later through Mbappé, who spun away from Kalidou Koulibaly and tucked the ball home almost without looking, a simply superb goal and one that saw him go level with Giroud as France’s all-time leading goalscorer.

Jackson appeared to have found an immediate equaliser in equally impressive fashion, volleying into the roof of the net, but he was ruled offside. Doué drove through the defence with little more than 15 minutes left on the clock, but his powerful strike was saved by Mendy.

Senegal blinked first with substitutions, replacing Lamine Camara and Sarr with Habib Diarra and 18-year-old PSG talent Mbaye. Dembélé was withdrawn shortly after and replaced by Barcola, with France eyeing a second goal. The winger made an immediate impact by finding exactly that, a second goal, a brilliant and fluid move from France ended when he dinked the ball over Mendy and into the back of the net.

Further changes followed for Senegal, with Iliman Ndiaye and Bamba Dieng replacing Jackson and Pape Gueye. Rayan Cherki was also introduced to proceedings, with Doué being withdrawn following a strong second-half performance. Meanwhile, Lions de la Téranga’s final change saw Idrissa Gana Gueye replaced by Pathé Ciss for the closing stages of the match.

Eight minutes of additional time followed, and Mbaye gave Senegal a lifeline in the 95th minute when he fired the ball past Maignan to halve the deficit. The hope didn’t last long, though, with Mbappé squashing it less than a minute later when he picked out the top corner from 35 yards out to confirm three points for France following a spectacular second half performance.

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France – Senegal Live Score