PLAYER RATINGS | France 3-1 Senegal: Kylian Mbappé scores brace in winning start for Les Bleus | OneFootball

2026 World Cup group stage, 16/06/2026

France kicked off their World Cup campaign with a hard-fought victory over Senegal in New York, with second-half goals from Kylian Mbappé and Bradley Barcola sealing the three points.

The match

Les Bleus were not out for revenge. In any case, it’s what both N’Golo Kanté and Didier Deschamps insisted when asked about the famous 2002 tournament curtain-raiser. Tuesday fixture was nevertheless the first time that France were to take on Senegal since their World Cup winners fell to defeat at the hands of Papa Bouba Diop and his teammates.

Coming up against the African (more or less) champions nevertheless posed a stern test to start with for Didier Deschamps’ all-star attack. While the national team’s head coach claimed otherwise the day before, his fluid frontline including Kylian Mbappé and Ousmane Dembélé invariably placed Les Bleus among the tournament favourites. French fans were right to be, at the very least, cautiously optimistic. Perhaps more so than in 2002.

The opening minutes saw a few close calls for Les Bleus, with Nicolas Jackson notably able to cut through the defence early on before Dayot Upamecano intervened. Kylian Mbappé made some promising runs of his own at the other end of the pitch, but was let down by inconsistent service from the midfield as well as his own poor first touch.

There was a even better chance for the Chelsea striker midway through the half, as he broke through down the left and managed to get a shot away. The effort came off the post, bounced off Mike Maignan’s calf and bobbled out just wide of the goal.

Les Bleus scarcely improved as the half went on. Senegal right-back Krépin Diatta repeatedly breezed past Désiré Doué down the wing, and Aurélien Tchouaméni’s wayward passing stopped several attacks in their tracks. The best chance of the half fell to the Teranga Lions just before half-time, as the ball fell to Ismaïla Sarr across goal, but the Crystal Palace winger’s close-range shot went over the bar.

France’s first chance in the second half, and arguably their clearest until then, fell to Michael Olise. The Bayern Munich man was played through on goal and, under pressure from a defender, unleashed a shot which was blocked by Édouard Mendy. The former Chelsea goalkeeper then saved a similar effort from Mbappé minutes later. 

The captain appeared to have won a penalty on the hour mark after being brought down by a sliding challenge from Sadio Mané, but the referee decided waved away the claim after a long deliberation. Mbappé finally had his chance midway through the half, scoring the goal which made his France’s joint-all-time top scorer after a well-placed through ball from Michael Olise. 

Senegal appeared to have responded seconds later with an emphatic finish from Jackson, but the forward was ruled offside straight away. The ensuing hydration break did not blunt the intensity of their efforts to get an equaliser, however.

Les Bleus eventually pulled clear ten minutes from time as Bradley Barcola, who had only just come on for Ousmane Dembélé, beat Mendy from close range after a through ball from Adrien Rabiot. There would be no clean sheet for Les Bleus, though, as PSG’s Ibrahim Mbaye beat Théo Hernandez down the right and beat Maignan with an emphatic finish.

A sensational long-range effort from Mbappé would seal the result straight after the restart, with the 27-year-old notching his record-breaking 58th goal for Les Bleus. The defensive scares continued in the final stages of the match, however, as Tchouaméni nearly turned a cross into his own net but for a last-ditch intervention from Maignan. The ease with which Senegal cut through the middle will remain a point of concern despite the victory.

France player ratings

Mike Maignan, 5

Jules Koundé, 4

Dayot Upamecano, 8 – The Bayern Munich centre-back saved Les Bleus several times in the first half, notably cutting off Sarr early on in the match. Arguably the only France player to have matched the opponents in terms of intensity.

William Saliba, 6

Théo Hernandez, 4

Adrien Rabiot, 6

Aurélien Tchouaméni, 4

Ousmane Dembélé, 3 – The Ballon d’Or winner was the only member of the all-star front four who continued to struggle after the break. He was eventually replaced by Bradley Barcola, who scored within minutes of coming on after his incisive run was picked out by Rabiot. 

Michael Olise, 6 – His performance improved dramatically once he drifted into a more central position in the second half, and notably set up Mbappé’s opener with a pin-point through ball. 

Désiré Doué, 5

Kylian Mbappé, 7 – On his 99th appearance for Les Bleus, the front man made a few runs through the middle but initially struggled to combine meaningfully with his teammates. He burst into life after the break, finding his way into the box for what could have been a penalty before opening the scoring midway through the second half. He then became France’s all-time top scorer with a sensational long-range effort deep in stoppage-time.

GFFN | Raphaël Jucobin – reporting from the New York New Jersey Stadium