Mbappé rewrites France, World Cup history books as Les Bleus beat Senegal

EAST RUTHERFORD, N.J. — A trio of second-half goals from Kylian Mbappé (two of them, the latter a rocket from outside the box) and Bradley Barcola gave France a 3-1 win over Senegal in their FIFA World Cup opener on Tuesday.

While it wasn’t, strictly speaking, a comeback (it was 0-0 at halftime), in some ways it felt like one.

France struggled to find the right balance in the first half, their star-studded front four looking out of place and playing like individuals, and it was Senegal who carved out the better chances with Nicolas Jackson and Ismaïla Sarr, while limiting France to just two shots, both off target, for an expected goals of 0.06 at the break. Business picked up after the interval, in part because France boss Didier Deschamps rejiggered his front four, moving Michael Olise to a more central role and shifting Ousmane Dembélé wide.

France should have had a penalty when Sadio Mané brought down Mbappé, but referee Alireza Faghani felt differently and stuck to his decision, even after being called to the VAR monitor. But it was Olise, midway through the second half, who helped break the ice, sliding a defense-splitting pass into the path of the cutting Mbappé, who beat Édouard Mendy.

Barcola added another with a delightful dink to finish off the assist from Adrien Rabiot. Deep in injury time, substitute Ibrahim Mbaye dropped his shoulder to beat Theo Hernández to pull one back on the counter, before Mbappé’s long-range strike sealed the scored at 3-1. — Gabriele Marcotti

Mbappé rewrites French, World Cup history books

They’re historic numbers: 58 goals in 99 caps; 14 goals in 15 World Cup matches. Ladies and gentlemen, let me introduce you France’s all-time top goal scorer and France’s all time top goal scorer at World Cups. At 27, Mbappé took his career (and the record books) to another level on Tuesday with a brace against Senegal.

Those goals saw him overtake Olivier Giroud’s record for most in Les Bleus‘ history, as well as Just Fontaine’s record for most World Cup goals in a France shirt. Mbappé is now just two goals behind Miroslav Klose’s all-time World Cup goal-scoring record — another record he could break against Iraq next week.

After a frustrating first half in which he didn’t see much of the ball, he was unstoppable after the break. He missed a big chance when Mendy paired his shot, but the Al-Ahli keeper could do nothing for Mbappé’s first-time shot nor the long-range effort. He should have had a penalty, too.

Mbappé’s long embrace with Deschamps after his second goal meant a great deal. The manager will leave his post after this World Cup, but Mbappé owes him so much. Deschamps gave him his debut, his confidence, the armband and a central role in this team. Mbappé has rewarded him with one World Cup trophy and another final already. There might be even more this time around. — Julien Laurens

Referees not robotically following VAR

When Mbappé squirted away and into the Senegal area early and went down under Mané’s challenge, it looked like a penalty to the naked eye. Not to referee Alireza Faghani, however. The Iranian-Australian referee (he represented the former at Russia 2018 and, after emigrating, now represents the latter) signaled for a goal kick.

VAR Shaun Evans duly intervened, sending Faghani to the monitor and, at that point, French fans celebrated in anticipation. They were wrong to celebrate. Faghani trotted back out on the pitch and, again, signaled for a goal kick.

It looked like a dubious decision. While Mbappé vaulted Mané’s outstretched leg with his front leg, his trailing leg did appear to get caught by Mané, who was nowhere near the ball. Ultimately, it had no bearing on the result, and while the decision appeared incorrect in this case, it’s nice to see referees ultimately making up their own minds and not robotically following what VAR tells them. — Marcotti

Deschamps got tactics wrong — then right

Deschamps rarely changes his mind. He is conservative by nature. But he has now done it twice before in World Cups: In 2018, he decided to move everything around before France’s first game against Australia, from his beloved 4-4-2 to a 4-3-3, which didn’t work.

This time, after having played Olise as a No. 10 all season long, Deschamps changed again and played him on the right wing, where he features for Bayern Munich. France’s first half was so poor, and Olise so isolated, that the Bleus‘ boss decided to put his No. 11 back in the center after the break.

And that decision changed the game.

Olise’s impact on the game and on his team was outstanding. Suddenly, the same front four of Mbappé, Dembélé, Doué and Olise — which was lethargic in the first 45 minutes — became unplayable. Pace, intensity, flair, swagger: from no combinations at all to a great connection.

Deschamps got it wrong at the start, and France should be thankful so little damage was done on the scoreboard. He corrected it at halftime, but next time, he would do well to get it right from the start. — Laurens

Senegal fail to take their chance

It’s a low-scoring sport, filled with might-have-beens and should-have-beens. So it stands to reason that Senegal coach Pape Thiaw may end up reflecting on an alternate reality. One where Jackson’s shot doesn’t end in a fumbled Mike Maignan’s save. One where Dayot Upamecano doesn’t put on his Superman cape to hunt down Sarr. One where Sarr himself buries his clear-cut chance at the end of the first half. Take the lead and — who knows? — this game could have taken a very different turn.

He’ll want to ask himself just why Senegal were unable to build on a dominant first half that saw them limit France to just one shot (which was blocked to boot) and generate three excellent chances themselves.

Part of that is individual brilliance. Mbappé, sure, but also Olise, who, once he moved into a more central position, was able to dispense assists like Salt Bae used to dispense selfies. Once that French front four became settled in more rational positions, it was a case of pick your poison: stop one and one of the others will get you.

At the same time, it felt like Senegal’s attacking production simply dried up. Pape Gueye disappeared, Mané was on the back foot and Jackson and Sarr tailed off badly. In fact, Mbaye’s goal, in the fifth minute of injury time, was their first attempt on goal of the second half.

The good news for Senegal is that the first half showed what they can do. Keep that up and they can go deep in the tournament. — Marcotti