France 3-1 Senegal: Mbappe powers Les Bleus to victory after second half surge

Kylian Mbappe is now France’s all-time leading goalscorer with 58 goals, and this was a beauty.

He latches onto a loose ball and drills home from distance. Should Mendy do better? Probably.

Still, it was a great strike from Mbappe and he’s just three goals away from becoming the all-time leading goalscorer in World Cup history.

Oh wow, that came out of nowhere.

Teenager Ibrahim Mbaye smashes home to make it 2-1 with a few minutes of stoppage time to go.

Game on?

That is pretty much game, set and match to France with 10 minutes to go.

Substitute Bradley Barcola just came on for Ousmane Dembele a few minutes ago, and scores right away.

Adrien Rabiot plays the ball straight through the heart of the Senegal defense and Barcola dinks it over Mendy and in to make it 2-0.

France were pretty woeful in that first half, with an xG of 0.02 and they didn’t muster a single shot on target.

In the second half so far they’ve had 7 shots with 5 on target and an xG of 1.24.

That Ismaila Sarr miss for Senegal right on half time is looking like a massive moment in the game.

It took 45 minutes for France to get going but now they’ve finally turned up. In a big way.

That looked like Senegal had made it 1-1 just after Mbappe’s goal, but Nicolas Jackson was offside.

It’s a tidy finish from Jackson, but the offside flag is up and replays show he went just a little early.

A warning there for France that they can’t relax now they’re finally ahead.

France have taken the lead and it is that star Kylian Mbappe.

Michael Olise with a great pass and Mbappe times his run perfectly and sweeps home.

1-0 to France, and they deserve that after this second half display.

France work the ball into the box and Kylian Mbappe can’t quite get a touch on it.

France are pushing hard for the opener.

Kylian Mbappe bursts into the box and Sadio Mane slides in and does catch the French superstar.

Mbappe wants a penalty kick but the referee is not having it.

Mane does catch Mbappe but there is very little contact.

VAR is checking for a penalty kick and the referee has been called to the pitch-side monitor.

He checks the monitor but keep his original decision of no penalty kick.

France aren’t happy but that is refreshing to see a referee stick with his call.

There was contact but it was minimal. Mane shouldn’t really go diving in like that though.

Kylian Mbappe is clean through in the box and his first touch is in front of him and he gets a clean shot on goal.

But Edouard Mendy is again off his line quickly and saves with his trailing foot to keep it 0-0.

Mendy is leading the way in the man of the match polls at the moment.

Senegal have to stop France connecting these passes around their box. Easier said than done, mind.

First Desire Doue curled an effort just wide after a long ball forward got France going.

Then Michael Olise was played in after France won the ball back in midfield, but Olise’s low shot was saved well by Edouard Mendy.

This is so much better from France at the start of the second half.

France haven’t got going at all yet and have had 0 shots on target in that first half as Senegal missed a couple of great chances.

Nicolas Jackson raced clear on the counter but his low shot hit the post.

Then right on half time the extremely lively Ismaila Sarr missed a glorious chance from close range as he somehow put the ball over the bar.

France haven’t been able to get the ball to their talented attacking quartet of Mbappe, Olise, Dembele and Doue.

And they’ve been giving it away often and allowing Senegal to spring counters.

Didier Deschamps will be seriously contemplating some half time changes and it feels like Rayan Cherki and Warren Zaire-Emery could both come on soon to try and give them some control of this game.

Senegal miss a glorious chance right on half time and Ismaila Sarr will be kicking himself.

Sadio Mane gets in down the left side of the box and cuts the ball back.

Sarr is there but puts his effort from close range over the bar. That just has to go in.

Yes, the ball bounced up, but Sarr has to keep that down.

France have been let off the hook, big time.

Senegal are looking very confident and this time Ismaila Sarr surges into the box but smashes his effort over.

He’s annoyed with himself for not keeping that down but Senegal should be really encouraged by this start.

They are bossing midfield and France have no rhythm or speed to their play at all. Senegal are frustrating Kylian Mbappe and Co. and they are making it look very easy.

Kylian Mbappe loses the ball and the ball is played forward by Malick Diouf to Nicolas Jackson and he’s running into the box.

Jackson drills a low shot which spanks the near post, hits Mike Maignan on the heel and then goes out for a Senegal corner.

That is exactly the kind of counter attack Senegal are set up to make the most of and it almost worked perfectly.

0-0 at the hydration break in New York and France may need something a bit stronger than water...

Didier Deschamps can’t be happy with what he’s seen so far.

France have got on the ball a little more in the last few minutes but it’s all very slow and predictable.

Senegal look very happy to sit in and pick their moments to spring the press.

France haven’t been able to find Kylian Mbappe, Ousmane Dembele, Desire Doue or Michael Olise that much at all.

The French national anthem is a work of art and the French players, staff and fans belting it out is a joy to watch.

Here is the famous “La Marseillaise” being sung in New York, with Didier Deschamps properly going for it.

Amazing scenes.

France are taking plenty of risks with their defensive system as they’ve basically gone man for man with the Senegalese attackers.

Ismaila Sarr almost gets in but his shot is blocked and Dayot Upamecano recovers well to clear.

But Sarr almost gets in moments later as Desire Doue is caught on the ball.

Senegal are stepping up high and winning the ball back often in midfield.

France need to get a grip, fast.

Senegal have looked more dangerous early on and have whipped in a couple of great crosses.

Theo Hernandez cleared one for a corner which came to nothing.

France have started a little slowly and are trying to find Kylian Mbappe early with some long balls centrally.

Senegal will be very happy with how this game is panning out early on.

Senegal love to play on the counter and this lineup is perfect for that.

Sadio Mane will leads those counters with Nicolas Jackson and Ismaila Sarr supporting him.

There’s plenty of experience in this Senegal team too, as Kalidou Koulibaly is the skipper at center back and Edouard Mendy is in goal.

Senegal starting lineup against France

Mendy; Diatta, Koulibaly, Niakhate, Diouf; I. Gueye, Camara, P. Gueye; Sarr, Jackson, Mane

Well, Didier Deschamps has gone for it, hasn’t he?

France’s starting lineup is out and the front four is a sight to behold.

Mbappe leads the line with Dembele, Olise and Doue supporting him. That is the best attack in the world by some distance.

And they have Cherki, Barcola and Thuram on the bench too...

Here’s the full France starting lineup in New York:

Maignan; Kounde, Saliba, Upamecano, T. Hernandez; Tchouameni, Rabiot; Olise, Dembele, Doue; Mbappe

Here’s a live look at the scenes around the stadium, as fans of France and Senegal arrive and bring the party to MetLife.

This is really cool.

Here is a look at the sights and sounds around MetLife Stadium, with fans from both France and Senegal arriving.

What a lovely day for it!

And this was in Times Square in NYC last night. My word. Sensational vibes.

Senegal have been favored for so many World Cups to make a deep run and this tournament is no different.

This looks like being the final World Cup for Sadio Mane, 34, and around him Senegal have plenty of talented youngsters who are ready to step up and keep the tradition of being Africa’s top team going.

Iliman Ndiaye, Nicolas Jackson, Habib Diarra and Ismaila Sarr will all cause plenty of problems going forward and Senegal will aim to catch France on the counter early and often.

The great news for Senegal is that giving up chances on the break is probably France’s biggest weakness. That gives them a great chance to get off to a flying start at this tournament and they’ll need it with Norway next to come in the group stage.

France are the favorites with the bookmakers to win the 2026 World Cup, but there have been doubts growing around their captain and talisman Kylian Mbappe.

Why?

He struggled for fitness towards the end of the domestic season with Real Madrid, while his commitement was also called into question.

Still, in a chaotic season for Real which saw Xabi Alonso come and go and Alvaro Arbeloa took over on an interim basis before Jose Mourinho was hired on a three-year deal last week, Mbappe did score 42 goals in 44 games in all competitions.

Not too shabby.

Mbappe has a host of incredible attackers who will put chances on a plate for him (Olise, Cherki, Dembele and Doue to name a few) at this World Cup as he hunts down the record as being the all-time leading goalscorer in competition history.

But first things first Mbappe and France need to come flying out of the traps and make a statement against Senegal. They must win, and win big, to silence any doubters about their chances this summer.

Defensively there are concerns, but it seems like Didier Deschamps knows they have to go with all-out attack in this tournament in order to win it all.

Here’s how to watch France and Senegal squaring off at MetLife, in a repeat of the opening game of the 2002 World Cup which saw Senegal stun the then World Champions.

How to watch France vs Senegal live, stream link and start time

Kick off time: 3pm ET Tuesday (June 16)
Venue: MetLife Stadium — East Rutherford, New Jersey
TV Channel: Telemundo
Streaming: Stream live on Peacock, en Espanol