“People will still criticise” record-breaking Mbappé, says Deschamps | OneFootball

Didier Deschamps labelled Kylian Mbappé as “an iconic player” as the 27-year-old forward became France’s all-time top goalscorer after netting twice in Les Bleus’ 3-1 win against Senegal at the 2026 FIFA World Cup.

Mbappé opened the scoring shortly after the hour mark and completed his brace in the dying minutes of stoppage time, with France moving top of Group I despite a sluggish start to their tournament opener.

And while Deschamps voiced that “we had our challenges”, the 57-year-old stressed that “it’s great to win the first match against a great team like Senegal.

“From time to time, you can have a rough start and it’s quite hard to meet the high expectations at a World Cup, but I’m very satisfied that we’ve won. Beating Senegal is a great thing for us.”

Deschamps, who won the 1998 FIFA World Cup as a player and guided Les Bleus to glory from the technical area in 2018, revealed that he was “frank” with his players at half-time.

“I give my players a piece of my mind, and they have to do their jobs on the field,” he said.

Mbappé clearly got the message, latching onto a Michael Olise pass for the opener and then becoming France’s all-time top goalscorer with a thunderous effort from range in stoppage time.

“If you want to miss the first half and score two goals in the second half of another match, that’s okay with me,” Deschamps laughed in his post-match press conference.

“He was crowned with success in the second half; over the whole game, he could have scored four or five goals hypothetically, but we’re happy with two goals.”

“People will still criticise him,” the Les Bleus boss conceded, “but he’s an iconic player.

“He’s really able to tip the scales and bring his team to victory. People say he doesn’t defend, but he’s not here to defend.

“He does a lot for the group and although on the outside you can think that he’s selfish, that’s your opinion.”

France return to Group I action at the 2026 FIFA World Cup on Monday 22 June, when they take on Iraq at the Philadelphia Stadium.