In a moment that felt both inevitable and stunning, Kylian Mbappé etched his name alone atop France’s all-time scoring list Tuesday night. His two goals — one a clinical finish, the other a 35-yard exclamation point — powered Les Bleus to a 3-1 victory over Senegal in their World Cup opener, giving manager Didier Deschamps a farewell tournament debut to remember.
Mbappé entered the match tied with Olivier Giroud at 57 goals. He left it with 59. The 27-year-old superstar equaled the mark in the 65th minute, spinning away from Kalidou Koulibaly before tucking a near-post shot past Édouard Mendy — all while barely looking at the goal. Then, deep in stoppage time after Senegal had briefly threatened a comeback, Mbappé drove a missile into the top corner from distance, sealing the win and the record.
“When you see the names he’s now ahead of — it’s not just numbers, it’s history,” one French journalist on the ground noted, referencing the country’s pantheon of strikers from Just Fontaine to Thierry Henry to Giroud.
The opening half was a cagey, tense affair. Senegal — backed by Sadio Mané and the dynamic Nicolas Jackson — had the better early chances. Jackson rattled the upright in the 24th minute, the rebound bouncing off goalkeeper Mike Maignan before the defense cleared. Ismaïla Sarr somehow volleyed over from close range with the last kick of the first half, a miss that left Senegal wondering what might have been.
France came alive after the break. Désiré Doué forced a save from Mendy early in the second half, and Michael Olise was denied by the Senegalese keeper after a sharp run. Mbappé thought he’d won a penalty when Mané clipped him in the box, but referee Alireza Faghani — after a VAR check — stuck with his initial corner call.
Five minutes later, Mbappé didn’t need the referee’s help.
Bradley Barcola, introduced off the bench for Ousmane Dembélé, doubled France’s lead with a delightful dink over Mendy in the 76th minute, capping a fluid counterattack that sliced through Senegal’s defense. It seemed the game was settled.
Senegal refused to fold. Teenager Ibrahim Mbaye, an 18-year-old Paris Saint-Germain prospect, pulled one back in the 95th minute with a sharp finish past Maignan, briefly igniting hope for the Lions of Teranga. But Mbappé extinguished it less than 60 seconds later, picking out the top corner from 35 yards out to confirm three points and a historic personal milestone.
France’s front four of Mbappé, Olise, Dembélé and Doué created problems all night with their fluid movement. Senegal, despite flashes from Mané and Jackson, lacked the final polish needed to punish a French defense that looked unsettled early. The result leaves Group A wide open, but France’s statement performance — and Mbappé’s ascent into the record books — will dominate the conversation heading into Matchday 2.
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