France began the 2026 World Cup on Tuesday night with a 3-1 victory over Senegal, easing early pressure and giving the Tricolore a strong start to the tournament. The match was tense for more than an hour before Kylian Mbappé broke the deadlock in the 66th minute with a major goal.
Bradley Barcola, coming off the bench, doubled France’s lead just two minutes after entering the game. Senegal pulled one back in stoppage time, but Mbappé answered again in the 95th minute with a long-range strike into the top corner, one of the standout goals of the tournament so far.
The brace took Mbappé to 58 goals for France, moving him past Olivier Giroud to become the national team’s all-time top scorer. It also lifted him to 14 World Cup goals, tying Gerd Müller and moving ahead of Pelé, Lionel Messi and Just Fontaine on the tournament scoring list. L’Équipe wrote that “France’s pressure paid off,” praising Michael Olise’s pass and Edward Mendy’s defeat by the Real Madrid star’s finish.
The article also noted that France’s three goals in the opening match already surpassed its low scoring total at Euro 2022, when it reached the semifinals but finished the tournament with only one open-play goal.
